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By  C.  H.  SPURGEON 


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JALKS 


TO    FARMERS 


BY 

REV.  CHARLES  H.  SPURGEON. 

H 


NEW  YORK: 

FUNK   &  WAGNALLS,   PUBLISHERS, 

18  AND  20  ASTOB  PLACE. 

1889- 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

THE  SLUGGARD'S  FARM,        -  i 

THE  BROKEN  FENCE,       -  24 

FROST  AND  THAW,     -  -    39 
THE  CORN  OF  WHEAT  DYING  TO  BRING  FORTH  FRUIT,       56 

THE  PLOUGHMAN,       -  -    71 

PLOUGHING  THE  ROCK,  88 

THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  SOWER,  -  103 

THE  PRINCIPAL  WHEAT,  -  118 

SPRING  IN  THE  HEART,  -  132 

FARM  LABORERS,  -  149 

WHAT  THE  FARM  LABORERS  CAN  DO,  AND  WHAT  THEY 

CANNOT  DO,  -  164 

THE  SHEEP  BEFORE  THE  SHEARERS,  181 

IN  THE  HAY-FIELD,    -  -  196 

THE  JOY  OF  HARVEST,     -  211 

SPIRITUAL  GLEANING,  -  226 

MEAL-TIME  IN  THE  CORNFIELDS,  241 

THE  LOADED  WAGON,  -  258 

THRESHING,  275 
WHEAT  IN  THE  BARN,           .....  290 


TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 


THE  SLUGGARD'S  FARM. 

"  I  went  by  the  field  of  the  slothful,  and  by  the  vineyard  of  the  man  void 
of  understanding- ;  And,  lo,  it  was  all  grown  over  with  thorns,  and  nettles  had 
covered  the  face  thereof,  and  the  stone  wall  thereof  was  broken  down.  Then  I 
saw,  and  considered  it  well :  I  looked  upon  it,  and  received  instruction." — 
PROVERBS  24  :  30-32. 

No  doubt  Solomon  was  sometimes  glad  to  lay  aside 
the  robes  of  state,  escape  from  the  forms  of  court,  and 
go  through  the  country  unknown.  On  one  occasion, 
when  he  was  doing  so,  he  looked  over  the  broken  wall 
of  a  little  estate  which  belonged  to  a  farmer  of  his 
country.  This  estate  consisted  of  a  piece  of  ploughed 
land  and  a  vineyard.  One  glance  showed  him  that  it  was 
owned  by  a  sluggard,  who  neglected  it,  for  the  weeds 
had  grown  right  plentifully  and  covered  all  the  face  of 
the  ground.  From  this  Solomon  gathered  instruction. 
Men  generally  learn  wisdom  if  they  have  wisdom. 
The  artist's  eye  sees  the  beauty  of  the  landscape  because 
he  has  beauty  in  his  mind.  "  To  him  that  hath  shall 
be  given,"  and  he  shall  have  abundance,  for  he  shall 
reap  a  harvest  even  from  the  field  that  is  covered  with 
thorns  and  nettles.  There  is  a  great  difference  between 
one  man  and  another  in  the  use  of  the  mind's  eye.  I 


2  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

have  a  book  entitled,  "  The  Harvest  of  a  Quiet  Eye," 
and  a  good  book  it  is  :  the  harvest  of  a  quiet  eye  can  be 
gathered  from  a  sluggard's  land  as  well  as  from  a  well- 
managed  farm.  When  we  were  boys  we  were  taught  a 
little  poem,  called,  "  Eyes  and  no  Eyes,"  and  there  was 
much  of  truth  in  it,  for  some  people  have  eyes  and  see 
not,  which  is  much  the  same  as  having  no  eyes  ;  while 
others  have  quick  eyes  for  spying  out  instruction.  Some 
look  only  at  the  surface,  while  others  see  not  only  the 
outside  shell  but  the  living  kernel  of  truth  which  is  hid- 
den in  all  outward  things. 

We  may  find  instruction  everywhere.  To  a  spiritual 
mind  nettles  have  their  use,  and  weeds  have  their  doc- 
trine. Are  not  all  thorns  and  thistles  meant  to  be 
teachers  to  sinful  men  ?  Are  they  not  brought  forth  of 
the  earth  on  purpose  that  they  may  show  us  what  sin 
has  done,  and  the  kind  of  produce  that  will  come 
when  we  sow  the  seed  of  rebellion  against  God  ?  "I 
went  by  the  field  of  the  slothful,  and  by  the  vineyard  of 
the  man  void  of  understanding,"  says  Solomon  ;  "  I  saw, 
and  considered  it  well  :  I  looked  upon  it,  and  received 
instruction."  Whatever  you  see,  take  care  to  consider 
it  well,  and  you  will  not  see  it  in  vain.  You  shall  find 
books  and  sermons  everywhere,  in  the  land  and  in  the 
sea,  in  the  earth  and  in  the  skies,  and  you  shall  learn 
from  every  living  beast,  and  bird,  and  fish,  and  insect, 
and  from  every  useful  or  useless  plant  that  springs  out 
of  the  ground. 

We  may  also  gather  rare  lessons  from  things  that  we  do 
not  like.  I  am  sure  that  Solomon  did  not  in  the  least 
degree  admire  the  thorns  and  the  nettles  that  covered 
the  face  of  the  vineyard,  but  he  nevertheless  found  in- 
struction in  them.  Many  are  stung  by  nettles,  but  few 


THE    SLUGGARD  S    FARM.  3 

are  taught  by  them.  Some  men  are  hurt  bybriers,  but 
here  is  one  who  was  improved  by  them.  Wisdom  hath 
a  way  of  gathering  grapes  of  thorns  and  figs  of  nettles, 
and  she  distils  good  from  herbs  which  in  themselves 
are  noisome  and  evil.  Do  not  fret,  therefore,  over 
thorns,  but  get  good  out  of  them.  Do  not  begin  sting- 
ing yourself  with  nettles,  grip  them  firmly,  and  then  use 
them  for  your  soul's  health.  Trials  and  troubles,  worries 
and  turmoils,  little  frets  and  little  disappointments,  may 
all  help  you  if  you  will.  Like  Solomon,  see  and  con- 
sider them  well — look  upon  them,  and  receive  instruc- 
tion. 

As  for  us,  we  will  now,  first,  consider  Solomon's  de- 
scription of  a  sluggard :  he  is  "  a  man  void  of  understand- 
ing ";  secondly,  we  shall  notice  his  description  of  the  shig- 
gard's  land :  "  it  was  all  grown  over  with  thorns,  and 
nettles  had  covered  the  face  thereof."  When  we  have 
attended  to  these  two  matters  we  will  close  by  endeav- 
oring to  gather  the  instruction  which  this  piece  of  waste  grvund 
may  yield  iis. 

First,  think  of  SOLOMON'S  DESCRIPTION  OF  A  SLOTHFUL 
MAN.  Solomon  was  a  man  whom  none  of  us  would 
contradict,  for  he  knew  as  much  as  all  of  us  put  to- 
gether ;  and  besides  that,  he  was  under  divine  inspira- 
tion when  he  wrote  this  Book  of  Proverbs.  Solomon 
says,  a  sluggard  is  "  a  man  void  of  understanding." 
The  slothful  does  not  think  so;  he  puts  his  hands  in  his 
pockets,  and  you  would  think  from  his  important  air 
that  he  had  all  the  Bank  of  England  at  his  disposal. 
You  can  see  that  he  is  a  very  wise  man  in  his  own 
esteem,  for  he  gives  himself  airs  which  are  meant  to 
impress  you  with  a  sense  of  his  superior  abilities.  How 
he  has  come  by  his  wisdom  it  would  be  hard  to  say. 


4  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

He  has  never  taken  the  trouble  to  think,  and  yet  I  dare 
not  say  that  he  jumps  at  his  conclusions,  because  he 
never  does  such  a  thing  as  jump,  he  lies  down  and  rolls 
into  a  conclusion.  Yet  he  knows  everything,  and  has 
settled  all  points  :  meditation  is  too  hard  work  for  him, 
and  learning  he  never  could  endure  ;  but  to  be  clever  by 
nature  is  his  delight.  He  does  not  want  to  know  more 
than  he  knows,  for  he  knows  enough  already,  and  yet 
he  knows  nothing.  The  proverb  is  not  complimentary 
to  him,  but  I  am  certain  that  Solomon  was  right  when 
he  called  him  "  a  man  void  of  understanding."  Solo- 
mon was  rather  rude  according  to  the  dainty  manners  of 
the  present  times,  because  this  gentleman  had  a  field  and 
a  vineyard,  and  as  Poor  Richard  saith,  "  When  I  have 
a  horse  and  a  cow  every  man  biddeth  me  good  morrow . ' ' 
How  can  a  man  be  void  of  understanding  who  has  a 
field  and  a  vineyard  ?  Is  it  not  generally  understood 
that  you  must  measure  a  man's  understanding  by  the 
amount  of  his  ready  cash  ?  At  all  events  you  shall  soon 
be  flattered  for  your  attainments  if  you  have  attained 
unto  wealth.  Such  is  the  way  of  the  world,  but  such  is 
not  the  way  of  Scripture.  Whether  he  has  a  field  and  a 
vineyard  or  not,  says  Solomon,  if  he  is  a  sluggard  he 
is  a  fool,  or  if  you  would  like  to  see  his  name  written 
out  a  little  larger,  he  is  a  man  empty  of  understanding. 
Not  only  does  he  not  understand  anything,  but  he  has 
no  understanding  to  understand  with.  He  is  empty- 
headed  if  he  is  a  sluggard.  He  may  be  called  a  gentle- 
man, he  may  be  a  landed  proprietor,  he  may  have  a 
vineyard  and  a  field  ;  but  he  is  none  the  better  for  what 
he  has  :  nay,  he  is  so  much  the  worse,  because  he  is  a 
man  void  of  understanding,  and  is  therefore  unable  to 
make  use  of  his  property. 


THE    SLUGGARD  S    FARM.  5 

I  am  glad  to  be  told  by  Solomon  so  plainly  that  a 
slothful  man  is  void  of  understanding,  for  it  is  useful 
information.  I  have  met  with  persons  who  thought  they 
perfectly  understood  the  doctrines  of  grace,  who  could 
accurately  set  forth  the  election  of  the  saints,  the  pre- 
destination of  God,  the  firmness  of  the  divine  decree, 
the  necessity  of  the  Spirit's  work,  and  all  the  glorious 
doctrines  of  grace  which  build  up  the  fabric  of  our  faith  ; 
but  these  gentlemen  have  inferred  from  these  doctrines 
that  they  have  to  do  nothing,  and  thus  they  have  become 
sluggards.  Do-nothingism  is  their  creed.  They  will 
not  even  urge  other  people  to  labor  for  the  Lord,  be- 
cause, say  they,  "  God  will  do  his  own  work.  Salvation 
is  all  of  grace  !"  The  notion  of  these  sluggards  is  that 
a  man  is  to  wait,  and  do  nothing  ;  he  is  to  sit  still,  and 
let  the  grass  grow  up  to  his  ankles  in  the  hope  of  heav- 
enly help.  To  arouse  himself  would  be  an  interference 
with  the  eternal  purpose,  which  he  regards  as  altogether 
unwarrantable.  I  have  known  him  look  sour,  shake  his 
aged  head,  and  say  hard  things  against  earnest  people 
who  were  trying  to  win  souls.  I  have  known  him  run 
down  young  people,  and  like  a  great  steam  ram,  sink 
them  to  the  bottom,  by  calling  them  unsound  and  igno- 
rant. How  shall  we  survive  the  censures  of  this  dogmatic 
person  ?  How  shall  we  escape  from  this  very  knowing  and 
very  captious  sluggard  ?  Solomon  hastens  to  the  rescue 
and  extinguishes  this  gentleman  by  informing  us  that  he 
is  void  of  understanding.  Why,  he  is  the  standard  of 
orthodoxy,  and  he  judges  everybody  !  Yet  Solomon  ap- 
plies another  standard  to  him,  and  says  he  is  void  of  un- 
derstanding. He  may  know  the  doctrine,  but  he  does 
not  understand  it  ;  or  else  he  would  know  that  the  doc- 
trines of  grace  lead  us  to  seek  the  grace  of  the  doctrines  ; 


6  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

and  that  when  we  see  God  at  work  we  learn  that  he 
worketh  in  us,  not  to  make  us  go  to  sleep,  but  to  will 
and  to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure.  God's  predestina- 
tion of  a  people  is  his  ordaining  them  unto  good  works 
that  they  may  show  forth  his  praise.  So,  if  you  or  I 
shall  from  any  doctrines,  however  true,  draw  the  infer- 
ence that  we  are  warranted  in  being  idle  and  indifferent 
about  the  things  of  God,  we  are  void  of  understanding  ; 
we  are  acting  like  fools  ;  we  are  misusing  the  gospel  ; 
we  are  taking  what  was  meant  for  meat  and  turning  it 
into  poison.  The  sluggard,  whether  he  is  sluggish 
about  his  business  or  about  his  soul,  is  a  man  void  of 
understanding. 

As  a  rule  we  may  measure  a  man's  understanding 
by  his  useful  activities  ;  this  is  what  the  wise  man  very 
plainly  tells  us.  Certain  persons  call  themselves  "  cul- 
tured, ' '  and  yet  they  cultivate  nothing.  Modern  thought, 
as  far  as  I  have  seen  anything  of  its  actual  working,  is 
a  bottle  of  smoke,  out  of  which  comes  nothing  solid  ; 
yet  we  know  men  who  can  distinguish  and  divide,  de- 
bate and  discuss,  refine  and  refute,  and  all  the  while  the 
hemlock  is  growing  in  the  furrow,  and  the  plough  is 
rusting.  Friend,  if  your  knowledge,  if  your  culture,  if 
your  education  does  not  lead  you  practically  to  serve 
God  in  your  day  and  generation,  you  have  not  learned 
what  Solomon  calls  wisdom,  and  you  are  not  like  the 
Blessed  One,  who  was  incarnate  wisdom,  of  whom  we 
read  that  "  he  went  about  doing  good."  A  lazy  man  is 
not  like  our  Saviour,  who  said,  "  My  Father  worketh 
hitherto,  and  I  work."  True  wisdom  is  practical  : 
boastful  culture  vapors  and  theorizes.  Wisdom  ploughs 
its  field,  wisdom  hoes  its  vineyard,  wisdom  looks  to  its 
crops,  wisdom  tries  to  make  the  best  of  everything  ; 


THE   SLUGGARD  S    FARM.  7 

and  he  who  does  not  do  so,  whatever  may  be  his  knowl- 
edge of  this,  of  that,  or  of  the  other,  is  a  man  void  of 
understanding. 

Why  is  he  void  of  understanding  ?  Is  it  not  because 
he  has  opportunities  which  he  does  not  use  ?  His  day  has 
come,  his  day  is  going,  and  he  lets  the  hours  glide  by  to 
no  purpose.  Let  me  not  press  too  hardly  upon  any  one, 
but  let  me  ask  you  all  to  press  as  hardly  as  you  can 
upon  yourselves  while  you  enquire  each  one  of  himself, 
Am  I  employing  the  minutes  as  they  fly  ?  This  man 
had  a  vineyard,  but  he  did  not  cultivate  it  ;  he  had  a  field, 
but  he  did  not  till  it.  Do  you,  brethren,  use  all  your 
opportunities  ?  I  know  we  each  one  have  some  power  to 
serve  God  ;  do  we  use  it  ?  If  we  are  his  children  he  has 
not  put  one  of  us  where  we  are  of  necessity  useless.  Some- 
where we  may  shine  by  the  light  which  he  has  given  us, 
though  that  light  be  only  a  farthing  candle.  Are  we 
thus  shining  ?  Do  we  sow  beside  all  waters  ?  Do  we  in 
the  morning  sow  our  seed,  and  in  the  evening  still 
stretch  out  our  hand  ?  for  if  not,  we  are  rebuked  by  the 
sweeping  censure  of  Solomon,  who  saith  that  the  sloth- 
ful is  a  "  man  void  of  understanding  " 

Having  opportunities  he  did  not  use  them,  and 
next,  being  bound  to  the  performance  of  certain  duties  he  did 
not  fulfil  them.  When  God  appointed  that  every  Israelite 
should  have  a  piece  of  land,  under  that  admirable  system 
which  made  every  Israelitea  land  owner,  he  meant  that 
each  man  should  possess  his  plot,  not  to  let  it  lie  waste, 
but  to  cultivate  it.  When  God  put  Adam  in  the  garden 
of  Eden  it  was  not  that  he  should  walk  through  the  glades  • 
and  watch  the  spontaneous  luxuriance  of  the  unfailen. 
earth,  but  that  he  might  dress  it  and  keep  it,  and  he 
had  the  same  end  in  view  when  he  allotted  each  Jew  his 


8  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

piece  of  land  ;  he  meant  that  the  holy  soil  should  reach 
the  utmost  point  of  fertility  through  the  labor  of  those 
who  owned  it.  Thus  the  possession  of  a  field  and  a 
vineyard  involved  responsibilities  upon  the  sluggard 
which  he  never  fulfilled,  and  therefore  he  was  void  of 
understanding.  What  is  your  position,  dear  friend  ? 
A  father  ?  A  master  ?  A  servant  ?  A  minister  ?  A 
teacher  ?  Well,  you  have  your  farms  and  your  vine- 
yards in  those  particular  spheres  ;  but  if  you  do  not 
use  those  positions  aright  you  will  be  void  of  under- 
standing, because  you  neglect  the  end  of  your  exist- 
ence. You  miss  the  high  calling  which  your  Maker  has 
set  before  you. 

The  slothful  farmer  was  unwise  in  these  two  respects, 
and  in  another  also  ;  for  he  had  capacities  which  he  did  not 
employ.  He  could  have  tilled  the  field  and  cultivated  the 
vineyard  if  he  had  chosen  to  do  so.  He  was  not  a  sickly 
man,  who  was  forced  to  keep  his  bed,  but  he  was  a  lazy- 
bones who  was  there  of  choice. 

You  are  not  asked  to  do  in  the  service  of  God  that 
which  is  utterly  beyond  you,  for  it  is  expected  of  us 
according  to  what  we  have  and  not  according  to  what 
we  have  aot.  The  man  of  two  talents  is  not  required  to 
bring  in  the  interest  of  five,  but  he  is  expected  to  bring 
in  the  interest  of  two.  Solomon's  slothful  was  too  idle 
to  attempt  tasks  which  were  quite  within  his  power. 
Many  have  a  number  of  dormant  faculties  of  which  they 
are  scarcely  aware,  and  many  more  have  abilities  which 
they  are  using  for  themselves,  and  not  for  Him  who 
created  them.  Dear  friends,  if  God  has  given  us  any 
power  to  do  good,  pray  let  us  do  it,  for  this  is  a  wicked, 
weary  world.  We  should  not  even  cover  aglow-worm's 
light  in  such  a  darkness  as  this.  We  should  not  keep 


THE    SLUGGARD  S   FARM.  9 

back  a  syllable  of  divine  truth  in  a  world  that  is  so  full 
of  falsehood  and  error.  However  feeble  our  voices,  let 
us  lift  them  up  for  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness. 
Do  not  let  us  be  void  of  understand'ng,  because  we 
have  opportunities  that  we  do  not  use,  obligations  that 
we  do  not  fulfil,  and  capacities  which  we  do  not  exer- 
cise. 

As  for  a  sluggard  in  soul  matters,  he  is  indeed  void 
of  understanding,  lor  he  trifles  with  matters  which  demand 
his  most  earnest  heed.  Man,  hast  thou  never  cultivated  thy 
heart  ?  Hast  the  ploughshare  never  broken  up  the  clods 
of  thy  soul  ?  Has  the  seed  of  the  Word  never  been  sown 
in  thee  ?  or  has  it  taken  no  root  ?  Hast  thou  never  water- 
ed the  young  plants  of  desire  ?  Hast  thou  never  sought 
to  pull  up  the  weeds  of  sin  that  grow  in  thy  heart  ?  Art 
thou  still  a  piece  of  the  bare  common  or  wild  heath  ?  Poor 
soul  !  Thou  canst  trim  thy  body,  and  spend  many  a 
minute  at  the  'glass  ;  dost  thou  not  care  for  thy  soul  ? 
How  long  thou  takest  to  decorate  thy  poor  flesh,  which  is 
but  worm's  meat,  or  would  be  in  a  minute  if  God  took 
away  thy  breath  !  And  yet  all  the  while  thy  soul  is  un- 
combed, unwashed,  unclad,  a  poor  neglected  thing  ' 
Oh  it  should  not  be  so.  You  take  care  of  the  worse 
part  and  leave  the  b'etter  to  perish  through  neglect. 
This  is  the  height  of  folly  !  He  that  is  a  sluggard  as 
to  the  vineyard  of  his  heart  is  a  man  void  of  under- 
standing. If  I  must  be  idle,  let  it  be  seen  in  my  field 
and  my  garden,  but  not  in  my  soul. 

Or  are  you  a  Christian  ?  Are  you  really  saved,  and 
are  you  negligent  in  the  Lord's  work  ?  Then,  indeed, 
whatever  you  may  be,  I  cannot  help  saying  you  have  too 
little  understanding  ;  for  surely,  when  a  man  is  saved 
himself,  and  understands  the  danger  of  other  men's  souls, 


10  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

he  must  be  in  earnest  in  trying  to  pluck  the  firebrands 
from  the  flame.  A  Christian  sluggard  !  Is  there  such 
a  being  ?  A  Christian  man  on  half  time  ?  A  Christian 
man  working  not  at  all  for  his  Lord  ;  how  shall  I  speak 
of  him?  Time  does,  not  tarry,  DEATH  does  not  tarry, 
HELL  does  not  tarry  ;  Satan  is  not  lazy,  all  the  powers 
of  darkness  are  busy  :  how  is  it  that  you  and  I  can  be 
sluggish,  if  the  Master  has  put  us  into  his  vineyard  ? 
Surely  we  must  be  void  of  understanding  if,  after  being 
saved  by  the  infinite  love  of  God,  we  do  not  spend  and 
be  spent  in  his  service.  The  eternal  fitness  of  things 
demands  that  a  saved  man  should  be  an  earnest  man. 

The  Christian  who  is  slothful  in  his  Master's  service 
has  no  idea  what  he  is  losing;  for  the  very  cream  of  religion 
lies  in  holy  consecration  to  God.  Some  people  have  just 
enough  religion  to  make  it  questionable  whether  they 
have  any  or  no.  They  have  enough  godliness  to  make 
them  uneasy  in  their  ungodliness.  They  have  washed 
enough  of  their  face  to  show  the  dirt  upon  the  rest  of  it. 
"  I  am  glad,"  said  a  servant,  "  that  my  mistress  takes  the 
sacrament,  for  otherwise  I  should  not  know  she  had  any 
religion  at  all."  You  smile,  and  well  you  may.  It  is 
ridiculous  that  some  people  should  have  no  goods  in 
their  shop,  and  yet  advertise  their  business  in  all  the 
papers  ;  should  make  a  show  of  religion,  and  yet  have 
none  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  I  wish  some  professors  would 
do  Christ  the  justice  to  say,  "  No,  I  am  not  one.  of  his 
disciples  ;  do  not  think  so  badly  of  him  as  to  imagine 
that  I  can  be  one  of  them."  We  ought  to  be  reflections 
of  Christ  ;  but  I  fear  many  are  reflections  upon  Christ. 
When  we  see  a  lot  of  lazy  servants,  we  are  apt  to  think 
that  their  master  must  be  a  very  idle  person  himself,  or 
he  would  never  put  up  with  them.  He  who  employs 


THE    SLUGGARD  S   FARM.  II 

sluggards,  and  is  satisfied  with  their  snail- like  pace, 
cannot  be  a  very  active  man  himself.  O,  let  not  the 
world  think  that  Christ  is  indifferent  to  human  woe, 
that  Christ  has  lost  his  zeal,  that  Christ  has  lost  his 
energy  :  yet  I  fear  they  will  say  it  or  think  it  if  they  see 
-those  who  profess  to  be  laborers  in  the  vineyard  of 
Christ  nothing  better  than  mere  sluggards.  The  sloth- 
ful, then,  is  a  man  void  of  understanding  ;  he  loses  the 
honor  and  pleasure  which  he  would  find  in  serving  his 
Master  ;  he  is  a  dishonor  to  the  cause  which  he  professes 
to  venerate,  and  he  is  storing  up  thorns  for  his  dying 
pillow.  Let  that  stand  as  settled — the  slothful,  whether 
he  be  a  minister,  deacon,  or  private  Christian,  is  a  man 
void  of  understanding. 

Now,  secondly,  LET  us  LOOK  AT  THE  SLUGGARD'S  LAND  : 
"  I  went  by  the  field  of  the  slothful,  and  by  the  vineyard 
of  the  man  void  of  understanding  ;  And,  lo,  it  was  all 
grown  over  with  thorns,  and  nettles  had  covered  the 
face  thereof. "  Note,  first,  that  land  will  produce  some- 
thing. Soil  which  is  good  enough  to  be  made  into  a 
field  and  a  vineyard  must  and  will  yield  some  fruit  or 
other  ;  and  so  you  and  I,  in  our  hearts  and  in  the 
sphere  God  gives  us  to  occupy,  will  be  sure  to  produce 
something.  We  cannnot  live  in  this  world  as  entire 
blanks  ;  we  shall  either  do  good  or  do  evil,  as  sure  as  we 
are  alive.  If  you  are  idle  in  Christ's  work,  you  are 
active  in  the  devil's  work.  The  sluggard  by  sleeping  was 
doing  more  for  the  cultivation  of  thorns  and  nettles 
than  he  could  have  done  by  any  other  means.  As  a 
garden  will  either  yield  flowers  or  weeds,  fruits  or  this- 
tles, so  something  either  good  or  evil  will  come  out  of 
our  household,  our  class,  or  our  congregation.  If  we 


12  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

% 

do  not  produce  a  harvest  of  good  wheat,  by  laboring  for 
Christ,  we  shall  grow  tares  to  be  bound  up  in  bundles 
for  the  last  dread  burning. 

Note  again  that,  if  it  be  not  farmed  for  God,  the 
soul  will  yield  its  natural  produce;  and  what  is  the  natural 
produce  of  land  if  left  to  itself  ?  What  but  thorns  and 
nettles,  or  some  other  useless  weeds  ?  What  is  the 
natural  produce  of  your  heart  and  mine  ?  What  but 
sin  and  misery  ?  What  is  the  natural  produce  of  your 
children  if  you  leave  them  untrained  for  God  ?  What 
but  unholiness  and  vice  ?  What  is  the  natural  produce 
of  this  great  city  if  we  leave  its  streets,  and  lanes,  and 
alleys  without  the  gospel  ?  What  but  crime  and  infamy  ? 
Some  harvest  there  will  be,  and  the  sheaves  will  be  the 
natural  produce  of  the  soil,  which  is  sin,  death,  and 
corruption. 

If  we  are  slothful,  the  natural  produce  of  our  heart 
and  of  our  sphere  will  be  most  inconvenient  and  unpleasant  to 
ourselves.  Nobody  can  sleep  on  thorns,  or  make  a  pillow 
of  nettles.  No  rest  can  come  out  of  an  idleness  which 
lets  ill  alone,  and  does  not  by  God's  Spirit  strive  to  up- 
root evil.  While  you  are  sleeping,  Satan  will  be  sowing. 
If  you  withhold  the  seed  of  good,  Satan  will  be  lavish 
with  the  seed  of  evil,  and  from  that  evil  will  come 
anguish  and  regret  for  time,  and  it  may  be  for  eternity. 
O  man,  the  garden  put  into  thy  charge,  if  thou  waste 
thy  time  in  slumber,  will  reward  thee  with  all  that  is 
noisome  and  painful.  '  Thorns  also  and  thistles  shall 
it  bring  forth  to  thee." 

In  many  instances  there  will  be  a  great  deal  of  this  evil 
produce  ;  for  a  field  and  a  vineyard  will  yield  more 
thistles  and  nettles  than  a  piece  of  gound  that  has  never 
been  reclaimed.  If  the  land  is  good  enough  for  a  gar- 


THE   SLUGGARDS    FARM.  13 

den,  it  will  present  its  owner  with  a  fine  crop  of  weeds 
if  he  only  stays  his  hand.  A  choice  bit  of  land  fit  for 
a  vineyard  of  red  wine  will  render  such  a  profusion  of 
nettles  to  the  slothful  that  he  shall  rub  his  eyes  with 
surprise.  The  man  who  might  do  most  for  God,  if  he 
were  renewed,  will  bring  forth  most  for  Satan  if  he  be 
let  alone.  The  very  region  which  would  have  glorified 
God  most  if  the  grace  of  God  were  there  to  convert  its 
inhabitants,  will  be  that  out  of  which  the  vilest  enemies 
of  the  gospel  will  arise.  Rest  assured  of  that  ;  the  best 
will  become  the  worst  if  we  neglect  it.  Neglect  is  all 
that  is  needed  to  produce  evil.  If  you  want  to  know 
the  way  of  salvation,  I  must  take  some  pains  to  tell  you  ; 
but  if  you  want  to  know  the  way  to  be  lost,  my  reply  is 
easy  ;  for  it  is  only  a  matter  of  negligence  : — ' '  How  shall 
we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation  ?"  If  you 
desire  to  bring  forth  a  harvest  unto  God,  I  may  need 
long  to  instruct  you  in  ploughing,  sowing,  and  watering  ; 
but  if  you  wish  your  mind  to  be  covered  with  Satan's 
hemlock,  you  have  only  to  leave  the  furrows  of  your 
nature  to  themselves.  The  slothful  asks  for  "  A  little 
sleep,  a  little  slumber,  a  little  folding  of  the  hands  to 
sleep,"  and  the  thorns  and  thistles  multiply  beyond  all 
numbering,  and  prepare  for  him  many  a  sting. 

While  we  look  upon  the  lazy  man's  vineyard  let  us 
also  peep  into  the  ungodly  sluggard's  heart.  He  does 
not  care  about  repentance  and  faith.  To  think  about 
his  soul,  to  be  in  earnest  about  eternity,  is  too  much  for 
him.  He  wants  to  take  things  easy,  and  have  a  little 
more  folding  of  the  arms  to  sleep.  What  is  growing  in 
his  mind  and  character  ?  In  some  of  these  spiritual 
sluggards  you  can  see  drunkenness,  uncleanness,  cov- 
etousness,  anger,  and  pride,  and  all  sorts  of  thistles  and 


14  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

nettles  ;  or  where  these  ranker  weeds  do  not  appear, 
by  reason  of  the  restraint  of  pious  connections,  you 
find  other  sorts  of  sin.  The  heart  cannot  be  altogether 
empty,  either  Christ  or  the  devil  will  possess  it.  My 
dear  friend,  if  you  are  not  decided  for  God,  you  can- 
not be  a  neutral.  In  this  war  every  man  is  for  God  or 
for  his  enemy.  You  cannot  remain  like  a  sheet  of  blank 
paper.  The  legible  handwriting  of  Satan  is  upon  you 
— can  you  not  see  the  blots  ?  Unless  Christ  has  written 
across  the  page  his  own  sweet  name,  the  autograph  of 
Satan  is  visible.  You  may  say,  "  I  do  not  go  into  open 
sin  ;  I  ani  moral,"  and  so  forth.  Ah,  if  you  would  but 
look,  and  consider,  and  search  into  your  heart,  you 
would  see  that  enmity  to  God  and  to  his  ways,  and 
hatred  of  purity,  are  there.  You  do  not  love  God's  law, 
nor  love  his  Son,  nor  love  his  gospel,  you  are  alienated 
in  your  heart,  and  there  is  in  you  all  manner  of  evil 
desires  and  vain  thoughts,  and  these  will  flourish  and 
increase  so  long  as  you  are  a  spiritual  sluggard,  and 
leave  your  heart  uncultivated.  O,  may  the  Spirit  of 
God  arouse  you  ;  may  you  be  stirred  to  anxious,  earnest 
thought,  and  then  you  will  see  that  these  rank  growths 
must  be  uprooted,  and  that  your  heart  must  be  turned 
up  by  the  plough  of  conviction,  and  sown  with  the 
good  seed  of  the  gospel,  till  a  harvest  rewards  the  great 
Husbandman. 

Friend,  if  you  believe  in  Christ,  I  want  to  peep  over 
the  hedge  intoyour  heart  also,  if  you  are  a  sluggish  Chris- 
tian ;  for  I  fear  that  nettles  and  thistles  are  threatening 
you  also.  Did  I  not  hear  you  sing  the  other  day — 

"  'Tis  a  point  I  long  to  know  "  ? 

That  point  will  often  be  raised,  for  doubt  is  a  seed  which 


THE   SLUGGARD  S   FARM.  15 

is  sure  to  grow  in  lazy  men's  minds.  I  do  not  remember 
reading  in  Mr.  Wesley's  diary  a  question  about  his  own 
salvation.  He  was  so  busy  in  the  harvest  of  the  Master 
that  it  did  not  occur  to  him  to  distrust  his  God.  Some 
Christians  have  little  faith  in  consequence  of  their  having 
never  sown  the  grain  of  mustard-seed  which  they  have 
received.  If  you  do  not  sow  your  faith  by  using  it,  how 
can  it  grow  ?  When  a  man  lives  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus, 
and  his  faith  exercises  itself  actively  in  the  service  of  his 
Lord,  it  takes  root,  groWs  upward,  and  become  strong, 
till  it  chokes  his  doubts.  Some  have  sadly  morbid 
forebodings  ;  they  are  discontented,  fretful,  selfish, 
murmuring,  and  all  because  they  are  idle.  These  are 
the  weeds  that  grow  in  sluggards'  gardens.  I  have 
known  the  slothful  become  so  peevish  that  nothing  could 
please  them  ;  the  most  earnest  Christian  could  not  do 
right  for  them  ;  the  most  loving  Christians  could  not  be 
affectionate  enough  ;  the  most  active  church  could  not 
be  energetic  enough  ;  they  detected  all  sorts  of  wrong 
where  God  himself  saw  much  of  the  fruit  of  his  Spirit. 
This  censoriousness,  this  contention,  this  perpetual 
complaining  is  one  of  the  nettles  that  are  quite  sure  to 
grow  in  men's  gardens  when  they  fold  their  arms  in 
sinful  ease.  If  your  heart  does  not  yield  fruit  to  God  it 
will  certainly  bring  forth  that  which  is  mischievous  in 
itself,  painful  to  you,  and  injurious  to  your  fellow-men. 
Often  the-thorns  choke  the  good  seed  ;  but  it  is  a  very 
blessed  thing  when  the  good  seed  comes  up  so  thick  and 
fast  that  it  chokes  the  thorns.  God  enables  certain 
Christians  to  become"  so  fruitful  in  Christ  that  their 
graces  and  works  stand  thick  together,  and  when  Satan 
throws  in  the  tares  they  cannot  grow  because  there  is  no 
room  for  them.  The  Holy  Spirit  by  his  power  makes 


1 6  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

evil  to  become  weak  in  the  heart,  so  that  it  no  longer 
keeps  the  upper  hand.  If  you  are  slothful,  friend,  look 
over  the  field  of  your  heart,  and  weep  at  the  sight. 

May  I  next  ask  you  to  look  mtoyvur  own  house  and 
home  ?  It  is  a  dreadful  thing  when  a  man  does  not  cul- 
tivate the  field  of  his  own  family.  I  recollect  in  my  early 
days  a  man  who  used  to  walk  out  with  me  into  the  vil- 
lages when  I  was  preaching.  I  was  glad  of  his  company 
till  I  found  out  certain  facts,  and  then  I  shook  him  off, 
and  I  believe  he  hooked  on  to  somebody  else,  for  he 
must  needs  be  gadding  abroad  every  evening  of  the  week. 
He  had  many  children,  and  these  grew  up  to  be  wicked 
young  men  and  women,  and  the  reason  was  that  the 
father,  while  he  would  be  at  this  meeting  and  that, 
never  tried  to  bring  his  own  children  to  the  Saviour. 
What  is  the  use  of  zeal  abroad  if  there  is  neglect  at 
home?  How  sad  to  say,  "  My  own  vineyard  have  I 
not  kept."  Have  you  never  heard  of  one  who  said  he 
did  not  teach  his  children  the  ways  of  God  because  he 
thought  they  were  so  young  that  it  was  ver)  wrong  to 
prejudice  them,  and  he  had  rather  leave  them  to  choose 
their  own  religion  when  they  grew  older  ?  One  of  his 
boys  broke  his  arm,  and  while  the  surgeon  was  setting 
it. the  boy  was  swearing  all  the  time.  *'  Ah,"  said  the 
good  doctor,  ' '  I  told  you  what  would  happen.  You  were 
-afraid  to  prejudice  your  boy  in  the  right  way,  but  the 
devil  had  no  such  qualms  ;  he  has  prejudiced  him  the 
other  way,  and  pretty  strongly  too."  It  is  our  duty  to 
prejudice  our  field  in  favor  of  corn,  or  it  will  soon  be  cov- 
ered with  thistles.  Cultivate  a  child's  heart  for  good, 
or  it  will  go  wrong  of  itself,  for  it  is  already  depraved  by 
nature.  O  that  we  were  wise  enough  to  think  of  this, 
and  leave  no  little  one  to  become  a  prey  to  the  destroyer. 


THE    SLUGGARD  S    FARM.  17 

As  it  is  with  homes,  so  is  it  with  schools.  A  gentle- 
man who  joined  this  church  some  time  ago  had  been  an 
atheist  for  years,  and  in  conversing  with  him  I  found  that 
he  had  been  educated  at  one  of  our  great  public  schools, 
and  to  that  fact  he  traced  his  infidelity  He  said  that 
the  boys  were  stowed  away  on  Sunday  in  a  lofty  gallery 
at  the  far  end  of  a  church,  where  they  could  scarcely 
hear  a  word  that  the  clergyman  said,  but  simply  sat 
imprisoned  in  a  place  where  it  was  dreadfully  hot  in 
summer  and  cold  in  winter.  On  Sundays  there  were 
prayers,  and  prayers,  and  prayers,  but  nothing  that 
ever  touched  his  heart  ;  until  he  was  so  sick  of  prayers 
that  he  vowed  if  he  once  got  out  of  the  school  he 
would  have  done  with  religion.  This  is  a  sad  re- 
sult, but  a  frequent  one.  You  Sunday-school  teach- 
ers can  make  your  classes  so  tiresome  to  the  children 
that  they  will  hate  Sunday.  You  can  fritter  away  the 
time  in  school  without  bringing  the  lads  and  lasses 
to  Christ,  and  so  you  may  do  more  hurt  than  good. 
I  have  known  Christian  fathers  who  by  their  severity 
and  want  of  tenderness  have  sown  their  family  field 
with  the  thorns  and  thistles  of  hatred  to  religion  instead 
of  scattering  the  good  seed  of  love  to  it.  O  that  we 
may  so  live  among  our  children  that  they  may  not  only 
love  us,  but  love  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  May 
fathers  and  mothers  set  such  an  example  of  cheerful 
piety  that  sons  and  daughters  shall  say,  "  Let  us  tread 
in  our  father's  footsteps,  for  he  was  a  happy  and  a 
holy  man.  Let  us  follow  our  mother's  ways,  for 
she  was  sweetness  itself."  If  piety  does  not  rule  in 
your  house,  when  we  pass  by  your  home  we  shall  see 
disorder,  disobedience,  pride  of  dress,  folly,  and  the 
beginnings  of  vice.  Let  not  your  home  be  a  slug- 


1 8  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

gard's    field,  or   you  will   have   to   rue  it   in  years   to 
come. 

Let  every  deacon,  every  class-leader,  and  also  every 
minister  enquire  diligently  into  the  state  of  the  field  he 
has  to  cultivate.  You  see,  brothers  and  sisters,  if  you 
and  I  are  set  over  any  department  of  our  Lord's  work, 
and  we  are  not  diligent  in  it,  we  shall  be  like  barren 
trees  planted  in  an  orchard,  which  are  a  loss  altogether, 
because  they  occupy  the  places  of  other  trees  which 
might  have  brought  forth  fruit  unto  their  owners.  We 
shall  cumber  the  ground,  and  do  damage  to  our  Lord, 
unless  we  render  him  actual  service.  Will  you  think 
of  this  ?  If  you  could  be  put  down  as  a  mere  cipher  in 
the  accounts  of  Christ,  that  would  be  very  sad  ;  but, 
brother,  it  cannot  be  so,  you  will  cause  a  deficit  unless 
you  create  a  gain.  Oh  that  through  the  grace  of  God 
we  may  be  profitable  to  our  Lord  and  Master  !  Who 
among  us  can  look  upon  his  life-work  without  some 
sorrow  ?  If  anything  has  been  done  aright  we  ascribe 
it  all  to  the  grace  of  God  ;  but  how  much  there  is  to 
weep  over  !  How  much  that  we  would  wish  to  amend  ! 
Let  us  not  spend  time  in  idle  regrets,-  but  pray  for  the 
Spirit  of  God,  that  in  the  future  we  may  not  be  void  of 
understanding,  but  may  know  what  we  ought  to  do,  and 
where  the  strength  must  come  from  with  which  to  do  it, 
and  then  give  ourselves  up  to  the  doing  of  it. 

I  beg  you  once  more  to  look  at  the  great  field  of  the 
world.  Do  you  see  how  it  is  overgrown  with  thorns 
and  nettles  ?  If  an  angel  could  take  a  survey  of  the 
whole  race,  what  tears  he  would  shed,  if  angels  could 
weep  !  What  a  tangled  mass  of  weeds  the  whole  earth 
is  !  Yonder  the  field  is  scarlet  with  the  poppy  of  popery, 
and  over  the  hedge  it  is  yellow  with  the  wild  mustard 


THE  SLUGGARD'S  FARM.  19 

of  Mahometanism.  Vast  regions  are  smothered  with 
the  thistles  of  infidelity  and  idolatry.  The  world  is 
full  of  cruelty,  oppression,  drunkenness,  rebellion,  un- 
cleanness,  misery.  What  the  moon  sees  !  What  God's 
sun  sees  !  What  scenes  of  horror  !  How  far  is  all  this 
to  be  attributed  to  a  neglectful  church  ?  Nearly  nine- 
teen hundred  years  are  gone,  and  the  sluggard's  vine- 
yard is  but  little  improved  !  England  has  been  touched 
with  the  spade,  but  I  cannot  say  that  it  has  been  thor- 
oughly weeded  or  ploughed  yet.  Across  the  ocean 
another  field  equally  favored  knows  well  the  ploughman, 
and  yet  the  weeds  are  rank.  Here  and  there  a  little 
good  work  has  been  done,  but  the  vast  mass  of  the 
world  still  lies  a  moorland  never  broken  up,  a  waste, 
a  howling  wilderness.  What  has  the  church  been  doing 
all  these  years  ?  She  ceased  after  a  few  centuries  to  be 
a  missionary  church,  and  from  that  hour  she  almost 
ceased  to  be  a  Irving  church.  Whenever  a  church  does 
not  labor  for  the  reclaiming  of  the  desert,  it  becomes 
itself  a  waste.  You  shall  not  find  on  the  roll  of  history 
that  for  a  length  of  time  any  Christian  community  has 
flourished  after  it  has  become  negligent  of  the  outside 
world.  I  believe  that  if  we  are  put  into  the  Master's 
vineyard,  and  will  not  take  away  the  weeds,  neither  shall 
the  vine  flourish,  nor  shall  the  corn  yield  its  increase. 
However,  instead  of  asking  what  the  church  has  been 
doing  for  this  nineteen  hundred  years,  let  us  ask  our- 
selves, What  are  we  going  to  do  now  ?  Are  the  missions 
of  the  churches  of  Great  Britain  always  to  be  such  poor, 
feeble  things  as  they  are  ?  Are  the  best  of  our  Christian 
young  men  always  going  to  stay  at  home  ?  We  go  on 
ploughing  the  home  field  a  hundred  times  over,  while 
millions  of  acres  abroad  are  left  to  the  thorn  and  nettle. 


2O  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

Shall  it  always  be  so  ?  God  send  us  more  spiritual  life, 
and  wake  us  up  from  our  sluggishness,  or  else  when  the 
holy  watcher  gives  in  his  report,  he  will  say,  "  I  went  by 
the  field  of  the  sluggish  church,  and  it  was  all  grown 
over  with  thorns  and  nettles,  and  the  stone  wall  was 
broken  down,  so  that  one  could  scarcely  tell  which  was 
the  church  and  which  was  the  world,  yet  still  she  slept, 
and  slept,  and  slept,  and  nothing  could  waken  her." 

I  conclude  by  remarking  that  THERE  MUST  BE  SOME 
LESSON  IN  ALL  THIS.  I  cannot  teach  it  as  I  would,  but  I 
want  to  learn  it  myself.  I  will  speak  it  as  though  I 
were  talking  to  myself. 

The  first  lesson  is,  that  unaided  nature  always  will 
produce  thorns  and  nettles,  and  nothing  else.  My  soul,  if  it 
were  not  for  grace,  this  is  all  thou  wouldst  have  produced. 
Beloved,  are  you  producing  anything  else  ?  Then  it  is 
not  nature,  but  the  grace  of  God  that  makes  you  produce 
it.  Those  lips  that  now  most  charmingly  sing  the  praises 
of  God  would  have  been  delighted  with  an  idle  ballad 
if  the  grace  of  God  had  not  sanctified  them.  Your  heart, 
that  now  cleaves  to  Christ,  would  have  continued  to 
cling  to  your  idols — you  know  what  they  were — if  it  had 
not  been  for  grace  divine.  And  why  should  grace  have 
visited  you  or  me — why  ?  Echo  answers,  Why  ?  What 
answer  can  we  give?  "  'Tis  even  so,  Father,  for  so  it 
seemed  good  in  thy  sight. "  Let  the  recollection  of  what 
grace  has  done  move  us  to  manifest  the  result  of  that 
grace  in  our  lives.  Come,  brothers  and  sisters,  inasmuch 
as  we  were  aforetime  rich  enough  in  the  soil  of  our 
nature  to  produce  so  much  of  nettle  and  thistle — and 
God  only  knows  how  much  we  did  produce — let  us  now 
pray  that  our  lives  may  yield  as  much  of  good  corn  for 
the  great  Husbandman.  Will  you  serve  Christ  less 


THE    SLUGGARD  S   FARM.  21 

than  you  served  your  lusts  ?  Will  you  make  less  sacrifice 
for  Christ  than  you  did  for  your  sins  ?  Some  of  you 
were  whole-hearted  enough  when  in  the  service  of  the 
evil  one,  will  you  be  half-hearted  in  the  service  of  God  ? 
Shall  the  Holy  Spirit  produce  less  fruit  in  you  than  that 
which  you  yielded  under  the  spirit  of  evil  ? 

God  grant  that  we  may  not  be  left  to  prove  what 
nature  will  produce  if  left  to  itself. 

We  see  here,  next,  the  little  value  of  natural  good  inten- 
tions ;  for  this  man,  who  left  his  field  and  vineyard  to  be 
overgrown,  always  meant  to  work  hard  one  of  these  fine 
days.  To  do  him  justice,  we  must  admit  that  he  did 
not  mean  to  sleep  much  longer,  for  he  said — "  Yet  a  little 
sleep,  a  little  slumber,  a  little  folding  of  the  hands  to 
sleep."  Only  a  little  doze,  and  then  he  would  tuck  up 
his  sleeves  and  show  his  muscle.  Probably  the  worst 
people  in  the  world  are  those  who  have  the  best  inten- 
tions, but  never  carry  them  out.  In  that  way  Satan  lulls 
many  to  sleep.  They  hear  an  earnest  sermon  ;  but  they 
do  not  arise  andgo  to  their  Father  ;  they  only  get  as  far 
assaying,  "  Yes,  yes,  the  far  country  is  not  a  fit  place  for 
me  ;  I  will  not  stay  here  long.  I  mean  to  go  home  by- 
and-by."  They  said  that  forty  years  ago,  but  nothing 
came  of  it.  When  they  were  quite  youths  they  had 
serious  impressions,  they  were  almost  persuaded  to  be 
Christians,  and  yet  they  are  not  Christians  even  now. 
They  have  been  slumbering  forty  years  !  Surely  that  is 
a  liberal  share  of  sleep  !  They  never  intended  to  dream  so 
long,  and  now  they  do  not  mean  to  lie  in  bed  much  longer. 
They  will  not  turn  to  Christ  at  once,  but  they  are  re- 
solved to  do  so  one  day.  When  are  you  going  to  do  it, 
friend  ?  ' '  Before  I  die. ' '  Going  to  put  it  off  to  the  last 
hour  or  two,  are  you  ?  And  so,  when  unconscious,  and 


1  a  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

drugged  to  relieve  pain,  you  will  begin  to  think  of  your 
soul  ?  Is  this  wise  ?  Surely  you  are  void  of  understand- 
ing. Perhaps  you  will  die  in  an  hour.  Did  you  not 
hear  the  other  day  of  the  alderman  who  died  in  his  car- 
riage ?  Little  must  he  have  dreamed  of  that.  Hovr 
would  it  have  fared  with  you  had  you  also  been  smitten 
while  riding  at  your  ease  ?  Have  you  not  heard  of  per- 
sons who  fall  dead  at  their  work  ?  What  is  to  hinder 
your  dying  with  a  spade  in  your  hand  ?  I  am  often 
startled  when  I  am  told  in  the  week  that  one  whom  I 
saw  on  Sunday  is  dead — gone  from  the  shop  to  the 
judgment-seat.  It  is  not  a  very  long  time  ago  since 
one  went  out  at  the  doorway  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  fell 
dead  on  the  threshold.  We  have  had  deaths  in  the 
house  of  God,  unexpected  deaths  ;  and  sometimes  peo- 
ple are  hurried  away  unprepared  who  never  meant  to 
have  died  unconverted,  who  always  had  from  their 
youth  up  some  kind  of  desire  to  be  ready,  only  still  they 
wanted  a  little  more  sleep.  Oh,  my  hearers,  take  heed 
of  little  delays,  and  short  puttings-off.  You  have  wasted 
time  enough  already,  come  to  the  point  at  once  before 
the  clock  strikes  again.  May  God  the  Holy  Spirit  bring 
you 'to  decision. 

"  Surely  you  do  not  object  to  my  having  a  little 
more  sleep?"  says  the  sluggard.  'You  have  waked 
me  so  soon.  I  only  ask  another  little  nap."  "  My 
dear  man,  it  is  far  into  the  morning."  He  answers, 
"  It  is  rather  late,  I  know  ;  but  it  will  not  be  much  later 
if  I  take  just  another  doze."  You  wake  him  again,  and 
tell  him  it  is  noon.  He  says,  "  It  is  the  hottest  part  of 
the  day  :  I  daresay  if  I  had  been  up  I  should  have  gone 
to  the  sofa  and  taken  a  little  rest  from  the  hot  sun." 
You  knock  at  his  door  when  it  is  almost  evening,  and 


THE   SLUGGARD  S   FARM.  23 

then  he  cries,  "  It  is  of  no  use  to  get  up  now,  for  the 
day  is  almost  over."  You  remind  him  of  his  over- 
grown field  and  weedy  vineyard,  and  he  answers,  "  Yes, 
I  must  get  up,  I  know."  He  shakes  himself  and 
says,  "  I  do  not  think  it  will  matter  much  if  I  wait  till 
the  clock  strikes.  I  will  rest  another  minute  or  two." 
He  is  glued  to  his  bed,  dead  while  he  liveth,  buried  in 
his  laziness.  If  he  could  sleep  forever  he  would,  but 
he  cannot,  for  the  judgment-day  will  rouse  him.  It  is 
written,  "  And  in  hell  he  lift  up  his  eyes,  being  in  tor- 
ment." God  grant  that  you  spiritual  sluggards  may 
wake  before  that  ;  but  you  will  not  unless  you  bestir 
yourselves  betimes,  for  "now  is  the  accepted  time"; 
and  it  may  be  now  or  never.  To  morrow  is  only  to  be 
found  in  the  calendar  of  fools  ;  to-day  is  the  time  of  the 
wise  man,  the  chosen  season  of  our  gracious  God.  Oh 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  lead  you  to  seize  the  present 
hour,  that  you  may  at  once  give  yourselves  to  the  Lord 
by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  then  from  his  vineyard — 

' '  Quick  uproot 

The  noisome  weeds,  that  without  profit  suck 
The  soil's  fertility  from  wholesome  plants.  " 


THE  BROKEN  FENCE. 

"  I  went  by  the  field  of  the  slothful,  and  by  the  vineyard  of  the  man  void 
of  understanding  ;  and  lo,  it  was  all  grown  over  with  thorns,  and  nettles  had 
covered  the  face  thereof,  and  tJie  stone  wall  thereof  was  broken  down.  Then  I 
saw,  and  considered  it  well  :  I  looked  upon  it  and  received  instruction."— 
PROVERBS  24  :  30-32. 

THIS  slothful  man  did  no  hurt  to  his  fellow-men  :  he 
was  not  a  thief,  nor  a  ruffian,  nor  a  meddler  in  anybody 
else's  business.  He  did  not  trouble  himself  about  other 
men's  concerns,  for  he  did  not  even  attend  to  his  own 
— it  required  too  much  exertion.  He  was  not  grossly 
vicious  ;  he  had  not  energy  enough  to  care  for  that.  He 
was  one  who  liked  to  take  things  easily.  He  always  let 
well  alone,  and,  for  the  matter  of  that,  he  let  ill  alone, 
too,  as  the  nettles  and  the  thistles  in  his  garden  plainly 
proved.  What  was  the  use  of  disturbing  himself  ?  It 
would  be  all  the  same  a  hundred  years  hence  ;  and  so 
he  took  things  just  as  they  came.  He  was  not  a  bad  man, 
so  some  said  of  him  ;  and  yet,  perhaps,  it  will  be  found 
at  last  that  there  is  no  worse  man  in  the  world  than  the 
man  who  is  not  good,  for  in  some  respects  he  is  not  good 
enough  to  be  bad  ;  he  has  not  enough  force  of  character 
about  him  to  serve  either  God  or  Baal.  He  simply  serves 
himself,  worshipping  his  own  ease  and  adoring  his  own 
comfort.  Yet  he  always  meant  to  be  right.  Dear  me  ! 
he  was  not  going  to  sleep  much  longer,  he  would  only 
have  forty  winks  more,  and  then  he  would  be  at  his  work, 


THE    BROKEN    FENCE.  25 

and  show  you  what  he  could  do.  One  of  these  days  he 
meant  to  be  thoroughly  in  earnest,  and  make  up  for  lost 
time.  The  time  never  actually  came  for  him  to  begin, 
but  it  was  always  coming.  He  always  meant  to  repent, 
but  he  went  on  in  his  sin.  He  meant  to  believe,  but  he 
died  an  unbeliever.  He  meant  to  be  a  Christian,  but  he 
lived  without  Christ.  He  halted  between  two  opinions 
because  he  could  not  trouble  himself  to  make  up  his 
mind  ;  and  so  he  perished  of  delay. 

This  picture  of  the  slothful  man  and  his  garden  and 
field  overgrown  with  nettles  and  weeds  represents  many 
a  man  who  has  professed  to  be  a  Christian,  but  who  has 
become  slothful  in  the  things  of  God.  Spiritual  life 
has  withered  in  him.  He  has  backslidden  ;  he  has  come 
down  from  the  condition  of  healthy  spiritual  energy  into 
one  of  listlessness,  and  indifference  to  the  things  of 
God  ;  and  while  things  have  gone  wrong  within  his  heart, 
and  all  sorts  of  mischiefs  have  come  into  him  and  grown 
up  and  seeded  themselves  in  him,  mischief  is  also  taking 
place  externally  in  his  daily  conduct.  The  stone  wall 
which  guarded  his  character  is  broken  down,  and 
he  lies  open  to  all  evil.  Upon  this  point  we  will 
now  meditate.  '  The  stone  wall  thereof  was  broken 
down." 

Come,  then,  let  us  take  a  walk  with  Solomon,  and 
stand  with  him  and  consider  and  learn  instruction  while 
we  look  at  this  broken- doivn  fence.  When  we  have  exam- 
ined it,  let  us  consider  the  consequences  of  broken-down  walls  ; 
and  then,  in  the  last  place,  let  us  try  to  rouse  up  this  slug- 
gard that  his  wall  may  yet  be  repaired.  If  this  slothful  person 
should  be  one  of  ourselves,  may  God's  infinite  mercy 
rouse  us  up  before  this  ruined  wall  has  let  in  a  herd  of 
prowling  vices. 


a6  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

I.  First  let  us  take  a  LOOK  AT  THIS  BROKEN  FENCE. 

You  will  see  that  in  the  beginning  it  was  a  very  good 
fence,  for  it  was  a  stone  wall.  Fields  are  often  surrounded 
with  wooden  palings  which  soon  decay,  or  with  hedges 
which  may  very  easily  have  gaps  made  in  them  ;  but 
this  was  a  stone  wall.  Such  walls  are  very  usual  in 
the  East,  and  are  also  common  in  some  of  our  own 
counties  where  stone  is  plentiful.  It  was  a  substantial 
protection  to  begin  with,  and  well  shut  in  the  pretty 
little  estate  which  had  fallen  into  such  bad  hands.  The 
man  had  a  field  for  agricultural  purposes,  and  another 
strip  of  land  for  a  vineyard  or  a  garden.  It  was  fer- 
tile soil,  for  it  produced  thorns  and  nettles  in  abun- 
dance, and  where  these  flourish  better  things  can  be  pro- 
duced ;  yet  the  idler  took  no  care  of  his  property,  but 
allowed  the  wall  to  get  into  bad  repair,  and  in  many 
places  to  be  quite  broken  down. 

Let  me  mention  some  of  the  stone  walls  that  men 
permit  to  be  broken  down  when  they  backslide. 

In  many  cases  sound  principles  were  instilled  in  youth,  but 
these  are  forgotten.  What  a  blessing  is  Christian  edu- 
cation !  Our  parents,  both  by  persuasion  and  example, 
taught  many  of  us  the  things  that  are  pure  and  honest, 
and  of  good  repute.  We  saw  in  their  lives  how  to  live. 
They  also  opened  the  word  of  God  before  us,  and  they 
taught  us  the  ways  of  right  both  toward  God  and 
toward  men.  They  prayed  for  us,  and  they  prayed  with 
us,  till  the  things  of  God  were  placed  round  about  us 
and  shut  us  in  as  with  a  stone  wall.  We  have  never 
been  able  to  get  rid  of  our  early  impressions.  Even  in 
times  of  wandering,  before  we  knew  the  Lord  savingly, 
these  things  had  a  healthy  power  over  us  ;  we  were 
checked  when  we  would  have  done  evil,  we  were  assisted 


THE   BROKEN    FENCE.  27 

when  we  were  struggling  toward  Christ.  It  is  very 
sad  when  people  permit  these  first  principles  to  be 
shaken,  and  to  be  removed  like  stones  which  fall  from  a 
boundary  wall.  Young  persons  begin  at  first  to  talk 
lightly  of  the  old-fashioned  ways  of  their  parents.  By- 
and-by  it  is  not  merely  the  old-fashionedness  of  the 
ways,  but  the  ways  themselves  that  they  despise.  They 
seek  other  company,  and  from  that  other  company  they 
learn  nothing  but  evil.  They  seek  pleasure  in  places 
which  it  horrifies  their  parents  to  think  of.  This  leads 
to  worse,  and  if  they  do  not  bring  their  fathers'  gray 
hairs  with  sorrow  to  the  grave  it  is  no  virtue  of  theirs. 
I  have  known  young  men,  who  really  were  Christians, 
sadly  backslide  through  being  induced  to  modify,  con- 
ceal, or  alter  those  holy  principles  in  which  they  were 
trained  from  their  mother's  knee.  It  is  a  great  calamity 
when  professedly  converted  men  become  unfixed,  un- 
stable, and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine. 
It  shows  great  faultiness  of  mind,  and  unsoundness  of 
heart,  when  we  can  trifle  with  those  grave  and  solemn 
truths  which  have  been  sanctified  by  a  mother's  tears 
and  by  a  father's  earnest  life.  "  I  am  thy  servant,"  said 
David,  "and  the  son  of  thy  handmaid  ":  he  felt  it  to 
be  a  high  honor,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  sacred  bond 
which  bound  him  to  God,  that  he  was  the  son  of  one  who 
could  be  called  God's  handmaid.  Take  care,  you  who 
have  had  Christian  training,  that  you  do  not  trifle  with 
it.  "  My  son,  keep  thy  father's  commandment,  and  for- 
sake not  the  law  of  thy  mother  :  bind  them  continually 
upon  thine  heart,  and  tie  them  about  thy  neck." 

Protection  to  character  is  also  found  in  the  fact  that 
solid  doctrines  have  been  learned.  This  is  a  fine  stone 
wall.  Many  among  us  have  been  taught  the  gospel 


2  8  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

of  the  grace  of  God,  and  they  have  learned  it  well,  so 
that  they  are  able  to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints.  Happy  are  they  who  have 
a  religion  that  is  grounded  upon  a  clear  knowledge  of 
eternal  verities.  A  religion  which  is  all  excitement,  and 
has  little  instruction  in  it,  may  serve  for  transient  use  ; 
but  for  permanent  life-purposes  there  must  be  a  knowl- 
edge of  those  great  doctrines  which  are  fundamental  to 
the  gospel  system.  I  tremble  when  I  hear  of  a  man's 
giving  up,  one  by  one,  the  vital  principles  of  the  gospel 
and  boasting  of  his  liberality.  I  hear  him  say,  "  These 
are  my  views,  but  others  have  a  right  to  their  views 
also."  That  is  a  very  proper  expression  in  reference  to 
mere  "  views,"  but  we  may  not  thus  speak  of  truth  itself 
as  revealed  by  God  :  that  is  one  and  unalterable,  and 
all  are  bound  to  receive  it.  It  is  not  your  view  of  truth, 
for  that  is  a  dim  thing  ;  but  the  very  truth  itself  which 
will  save  you  if  your  faith  embraces  it.  I  will  readily 
yield  my  way  of  stating  a  doctrine,  but  not  the  doctrine 
itself.  One  man  may  put  it  in  this  way,  and  one  in 
another  ;  but  the  truth  itself  must  never  be  given  up. 
The  spirit  of  the  Broad  School  robs  us  of  everything  like 
certainty.  I  should  like  to  ask  some  great  men  of  that 
order  whether  they  believe  that  anything  is  taught  in 
the  Scriptures  which  it  would  be  worth  while  for  a  per- 
son to  die  for,  and  whether  the  martyrs  were  not  great 
fools  for  laying  down  their  lives  for  mere  opinions  which 
might  be  right  or  might  be  wrong.  This  Broad-church- 
ism  is  a  breaking  down  of  stone  walls,  and  it  will  let 
in  the  devil  and  all  his  crew,  and  do  infinite  harm  to 
the  church  of  God,  if  it  be  not  stopped.  A  loose  state 
of  belief  does  great  damage  to  any  man's  mind. 

We  are  not  bigots,  but  we  should  be  none  the  worse 


THE   BROKEN    FENCE.  29 

if  we  so  lived  that  men  called  us  so.  I  met  a  man  the 
other  day  who  was  accused  of  bigotry,  and  I  said,  "  Give 
me  your  hand,  old  fellow.  I  like  to  meet  with  bigots  now 
and  then,  for  the  fine  old  creatures  are  getting  scarce, 
and  the  stuff  they  are  made  of  is  so  good  that  if  there 
were  more  of  it  we  might  see  a  few  men  among  us  again 
and  fewer  mollusks. ' '  Lately  we  have  seen  few  men  with 
backbone  ;  the  most  have  been  of  the  jelly-fish  order. 
I  have  lived  in  times  in  which  I  should  have  said,  "  Be 
liberal,  and  shake  off  all  narrowness":  but  now  lam 
obliged  to  alter  my  tone  and  cry,  "  Be  steadfast  in  the 
truth."  The  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints  is  now  all 
the  more  attractive  to  me  because  it  is  called  narrow,  for 
I  am  weary  of  that  breadth  which  comes  of  broken 
hedges.  There  are  fixed  points  of  truth,  and  definite  cer- 
tainties of  creed,  and  woe  to  you  if  you  allow  these  stone 
walls  to  crumble  down.  I  fear  me  that  the  slothful  are  a 
numerous  band,  and  that  ages  to  come  may  have  to  de- 
plore the  laxity  which  has  been  applauded  by  this  negli- 
gent generation. 

Another  fence  which  is  too  often  neglected  is  that  of 
godly  habits  which  had  been  formed :  the  sluggard  allows 
this  wall  to  be  broken  down.  I  will  mention  some 
valuable  guards  of  life  and  character.  One  is  the  habit 
of  secret  prayer.  Private  prayer  should  be  regularly 
offered,  at  least  in  the  morning  and  in  the  evening. 
We  cannot  do  without  set  seasons  for  drawing  near  to 
God.  To  look  into  the  face  of  man  without  having  first 
seen  the  face  of  God  is  very  dangerous  :  to  go  out  into 
the  world  without  locking  up  the  heart  and  giving  God 
the  key  is  to  leave  it  open  to  all  sorts  of  spiritual  vagrants. 
At  night,  again,  to  go  to  your  rest  as  the  swine  roll 
into  their  sty,  without  thanking  God  for  the  mercies  of 


30  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

the  day,  is  shameful.  The  evening  sacrifice  should  be 
devoutly  offered  as  surely  as  we  have  enjoyed  the  even- 
ing fireside  :  we  should  thus  put  ourselves  under  the 
wings  of  the  Preserver  of  men.  It  may  be  said,  "  We 
can  pray  at  all  times."  I  know  we  can  :  but  I  fear  that 
those  who  do  not  pray  at  stated  hours  seldom  pray  at 
alt.  Those  who  pray  in  season  are  the  most  likely  per- 
sons to  pray  at  all  seasons.  Spiritual  life  does  not  care 
for  a  cast-iron  regulation,  but  since  life  casts  itself  into 
some  mould  or  other,  I  would  have  you  careful  of  its 
external  habit  as  well  as  its  internal  power.  Never 
allow  great  gaps  in  the  wall  of  your  habitual  private 
prayer. 

I  go  a  step  farther  ;  I  believe  that  there  is  a  great 
guardian  power  about  family  prayer,  and  I  feel  greatly 
distressed  because  I  know  that  very  many  Christian 
families  neglect"  it.  Romanism,  at  one  time,  could  do 
nothing  in  England,  because  it  could  offer  nothing  but 
the  shadow  of  what  Christian  men  had  already  in  sub- 
stance. "  Do  you  hear  that  bell  tinkling  in  the  morning  ?" 
"  What  is  that  for  ?"  '  Togo  to  church  to  pray."  "In- 
deed," said  the  Puritan,  "  I  have  no  need  to*  go  there  to 
pray.  I  have  had  my  children  together,  and  we  have 
read  a  passage  of  Scripture,  and  prayed,  and  sang  the 
praises  of  God,  and  we  have  a  church  in  our  house." 
Ah,  there  goes  that  bell  again  in  the  evening.  What  is 
that  for  ?  Why,  it  is  the  vesper  bell.  The  good  man 
answered  that  he  had  no  need  to  trudge  a  mile  or  two 
for  that,  for  his  holy  vespers  had  been  said  and  sung 
around  his  own  table,  of  which  the  big  Bible  was  the 
chief  ornament.  They  told  him  that  there  could  be  no 
service  without  a  priest,  but  he  replied  that  every  godly 
man  should  be  a  priest  in  his  own  house.  Thus  have 


THE   BROKEN    FENCE.  31 

the  saints  defied  the  overtures  of  priestcraft,  and  kept 
the  faith  from  generation  to  generation.  Household 
devotion  and  the  pulpit  are,  under  God,  the  stone  walls 
of  Protestantism,  and  my  prayer  is  that  these  may  not  be 
broken  down. 

Another  fence  to  protect  piety  is  found  in  week-night 
services.  I  notice  that  when  people  forsake  week-night 
meetings  the  power  of  their  religion  evaporates.  I  do 
not  speak  of  those  lawfully  detained  to  watch  the 
sick,  and  attend  to  farm-work  and  other  business,  or  as 
domestic  servants  and  the  like  ;  there  are  exceptions  to 
all  rules  :  but  I  mean  those  who  could  attend  if  they 
had  a  mind  to  do  so.  When  people  say,  "  It  is  quite 
enough  for  me  to  be  wearied  with  the  sermons  of  the 
Sunday  ;  I  do  not  want  to  go  out  to  prayer-meetings, 
and  lectures,  and  so  forth," — then  it  is  clear  that  they 
have  no  appetite  for  the  word  ;  and  surely  this  is  a  bad 
sign.  If  you  have  a  bit  of  wall  built  to  protect  the  Sun- 
day and  then  six  times  the  distance  left  without  a  fence, 
I  believe  that  Satan's  cattle  will  get  in  and  do  no  end 
of  mischief. 

Take  care,  also,  of  the  stone  wall  of  Bible  reading, 
and  of  speaking  often  one  to  another  concerning  the 
things  of  God.  Associate  with  the  godly,  and  commune 
with  God,  and  you  will  thus,  by  the  blessing  of  God's 
Spirit,  keep  up  a  good  fence  against  temptations,  which 
otherwise  will  get  into  the  fields  of  your  soul,  and  de- 
vour all  goodly  fruits. 

Many  have  found  much  protection  for  the  field  of 
daily  life  in  the  stone  wall  of  a  public  prof ession  of  faith. 
I  am  speaking  to  you  who  are  real  believers,  and  I  know 
that  you  have  often  found  it  a  great  safeguard  to  be 
known  and  recognized  as  a  follower  of  Jesus.  I  have 


32  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

never  regretted — and  I  never  shall  regret — the  day  on 
which  I  walked  to  the  little  river  Lark,  in  Cambridge- 
shire, and  was  there  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism.  In 
this  I  acted  contrary  to  the  opinions  of  all  my  friends 
whom  I  respected  and  esteemed,  but  as  I  had  read  the 
Greek  Testament  for  myself,  I  felt  bound  to  be  im- 
mersed upon  the  profession  of  my  faith,  and  I  was  so. 
By  that  act  I  said  to  the  world,  "  I  am  dead  to  you, 
and  buried  to  you  in  Christ,  and  I  hope  henceforth  to 
live  in  newness  of  life."  That  day,  by  God's  grace,  I 
imitated  the  tactics  of  the  general  who  meant  to  fight 
the  enemy  till  he  conquered,  and  therefore  he  burned 
his  boats  that  there  might  be  no  way  of  retreat.  I 
believe  that  a  solemn  confession  of  Christ  before  men  is 
as  a  thorn  hedge  to  keep  one  within  bounds,  and  to  keep 
off  those  who  hope  to  draw  you  aside.  Of  course  it  is 
nothing  but  a  hedge,  and  it  is  of  no  use  to.fence  in  a  field 
of  weeds,  but  when  wheat  is  growing  a  hedge  is  of 
great  consequence.  You  who  imagine  that  you  can  be 
the  Lord's,  and  yet  lie  open  like  a  common,  are  under  a 
great  error  ;  you  ought  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
world,  and  obey  the  voice  which  saith,  "  Come  ye  out 
from  among  them,  be  ye  separate."  The  promise  of 
salvation  is  to  the  man  who  with  his  heart  believeth 
and  with  his  mouth  confesseth.  Say  right  boldly,  "  Let 
others  do  as  they  will  ;  as  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will 
serve  the  Lord."  By  this  act  you  come  out  into  the 
king's  highway,  and  put  yourself  under  the  protection 
of  the  Lord  of  pilgrims,  and  he  will  take  care  of  you. 
Oftentimes,  when  otherwise  you  might  have  hesitated, 
you  will  say,  "  The  vows  of  the  Lord  are  upon  me  :  how 
can  I  draw  back  ?"  I  pray  you,  then,  set  up  the  stone 
wall,  and  keep  it  up,  and  if  it  has  at  any  corner  been 


THE   BROKEN    FENCE.  33 

tumbled  over,  set  it  up  again,  and  let  it  be  seen  by  your 
conduct  and  conversation  that  you  are  a  follower  of 
Jesus,  and  are  not  ashamed  to  have  it  known. 

Keep  to  your  religious  principles  like  men,  and  do 
not  turn  aside  for  the  sake  of  gain,  or  respectability. 
Do  not  let  wealth  break  down  your  wall,  for  I  have 
known  some  make  a  great  gap  to  let  their  carriage  go 
through,  and  to  let  in  wealthy  worldlings  for  the  sake  of 
their  society.  Those  who  forsake  their  principles  to 
please  men  will  in  the  end  be  lightly  esteemed,  but 
he  who  is  faithful  shall  have  the  honor  which  cometh 
from  God.  Look  well  to  this  hedge  of  steadfast  adhe- 
rence to  the  faith,  and  you  shall  find  a  great  blessing 
in  it. 

There  is  yet  another  stone  wall  which  I  will  men- 
tion, namely,  firmness  of  character.  Our  holy  faith  teaches 
a  man  to  be  decided  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  to  be 
resolute  in  getting  rid  of  evil  habits.  "  If  thine  eye 
offend  thee" — wear  a  shade?  No  ;  "  pluck  it  out."  "  If 
thine  arm  offend  thee" — hang  it  in  a  sling  ?  No  ;  "  cut 
it  off  and  cast  it  from  thee."  True  religion  is  very 
thorough  in  what  it  recommends.  It  says  to  us,  "  Touch 
not  the  unclean  thing."  But  many  persons  are  so  idle 
in  the  ways  of  God  that  they  have  no  mind  of  their  own  : 
evil  companions  tempt  them,  and  they  cannot  say,  "No." 
They  need  a  stone  wall  made  up  of  noes.  Here  are  the 
stones  "  no,  no,  NO."  Dare  to  be  singular.  Resolve  to 
keep  close  to  Christ.  Make  a  stern  determination  to  per- 
mit nothing  in  your  life,  however  gainful  or  pleasurable, 
if  it  would  dishonor  the  name  of  Jesus.  Be  dogmati- 
cally true,  obstinately  holy,  immovably  honest,  despe- 
rately kind,  fixedly  upright.  If  God's  grace  sets  up  this 
hedge  around  you,  even  Satan  will  feel  that  he  cannot 


34  TALKS  TO  FARMERS. 

get  in,  and  will  complain  to  God  "  hast  thou  not  set  a 
hedge  about  him  ?" 

I  have  kept  you  long  enough  looking  over  the  wall, 
let  me  invite  you  in,  and  for  a  few  minutes  let  us  CONSIDER 

THE   CONSEQUENCES    OF    A    BROKEN-DOWN    FENCE. 

To  make  short  work  of  it,  first,  the  boundary  has  gone. 
Those  lines  of  separation  which  were  kept  up  by  the 
good  principles  which  were  instilled  in  him  by  religious 
habits,  by  a  bold  profession  and  by  a  firm  resolve,  have 
vanished,  and  now  the  question  is,  "Is  he  a  Christian, 
or  is  he  not?"  The  fence  is  so  far  gone  that  he  does 
not  know  which  is  his  Lord's  property  and  which  re- 
mains an  open  common  :  in  fact,  he  does  not  know 
whether  he  himself  is  included  in  the  Royal  domain  or 
left  to  be  mere  waste  of  the  world's  manor.  This  is  for 
want  of  keeping  up  the  fences.  If  that  man  had  lived 
near  to  God,  if  he  had  walked  in  his  integrity,  if  the 
Spirit  of  God  had  richly  rested  on  him  in  all  holy  living 
and  waiting  upon  God,  he  would  have  known  where 
the  boundary  was,  and.  he  would  have  seen  whether  his 
land  lay  in  the  parish  of  All-saints,  or  in  the  region 
called  No-man's-land,  or  in  the  district  where  Satan  is 
the  lord  of  the  manor.  I  heard  of  a  dear  old  saint  the 
other  day  who,  when  she  was  near  to  death,  was  attacked 
by  Satan,  and,  waving  her  finger  at  the  enemy,  in  her 
gentle  way,  she  routed  him  by  saying,  "  Chosen!  chosen! 
chosen  !"  She  knew  that  she  was  chosen,  and  she  re- 
membered the  text,  "  The  Lord  that  hath  chosen  Jeru- 
salem rebuke  thee."  When  the  wall  stands  in  its  integ- 
rity all  round  the  field,  we  can  resist  the  devil  by  bid- 
ding him  leave  the  Lord's  property  alone.  "  Begone  ! 
Look  somewhere  else.  I  belong  to  Christ,  not  to 


f  HE   BROKEN    FENCE.  35 

you."  To  do  this  you  must  mend  the  hedges  well 
so  that  there  shall  be  a  clear  boundary  line,  and  you 
can  say,  "  Trespassers,  beware  !"  Do  not  yield  an 
inch  to  the  enemy,  but  make  the  wall  all  the  higher, 
the  more  he  seeks  to  enter.  O  that  this  adversary  may 
never  find  a  gap  to  enter  by  ! 

Next,  when  the  wall  has  fallen,  the  protection  is  gone. 
When  a  man's  heart  has  its  wall  broken  all  his  thoughts 
will  go  astray,  and  wander  upon  the  mountains  of  van- 
ity. Like  sheep,  thoughts  need  careful  folding,  or  they 
will  be  off  in  no  time.  "  I  hate  vain  thoughts,"  said 
David,  but  slothful  men  are  sure  to  have  plenty  of  them, 
for  there  is  no  keeping  your  thoughts  out  of  vanity  un- 
less you  stop  at  every  gap  and  shut  every  gate.  Holy 
thoughts,  comfortable  meditations,  devout  longings, 
and  gracious  communings  will  be  off  and  gone  if  we 
sluggishly  allow  the  stone  wall  to  get  out  of  repair. 

Nor  is  this  all,  for  as  good  things  go  out  so  bad 
things  come  in.  When  the  wall  is  gone  every  passer-by 
sees,  as  it  were,  an  invitation  to  enter.  You  have  set 
before  him  an  open  door,  and  in  he  comes.  Are  there 
fruits  ?  He  plucks  them,  of  course.  He  walks  about 
as  it  were  a  public  place,  and  he  pries  everywhere.  Is 
there  any  secret  corner  of  your  heart  which  you  will  keep 
for  Jesus  ?  Satan  or  the  world  will  walk  in  ;  and  do 
you  wonder  ?  Every  passing  goat,  or  roaming  ox,  or 
stray  ass  visits  the  growing  crops  and  spoils  more  than 
he  eats,  and  who  can  blame  the  creature  when  the  gaps 
are  so  wide  ?  All  manner  of  evil  lust  and  desires,  and 
imaginations  prey  upon  an  unfenced  souh  It  is  of  no  use 
for  you  to  say,  "  Lead  us  not  into  temptation."  God 
will  hear  your  prayer,  and  he  will  not  lead  you  there  ; 
but  you  are  leading  yourself  into  it,  you  are  tempting 


36  TALKS  TO  FARMERS. 

the  devil  to  tempt  you.  If  you  leave  yourself  open  to 
evil  influences  the  Spirit  of  God  will  be  grieved,  and  he 
may  leave  you  to  keep  the  result  of  your  folly.  What 
think  you,  friend  ?  Had  you  not  better  attend  to  your 
fences  at  once  ? 

And  then  there  is  another  evil,  for  the  land  itself  will 
go  away.  "  No,"  say  you  ;  "  how  can  that  be  ?"  If  a 
stone  wall  is  broken  down  round  a  farm  in  England  a 
man  does  not  thereby  lose  his  land,  but  in  many  parts  of 
Palestine  the  land  is  all  ups  and  downs  on  the  sides  of 
the  hills,  and  every  bit  of  ground  is  terraced  and  kept 
up  by  walls.  When  the  walls  fall  the  soil  slips  over, 
terrace  upon  terrace,  and  the  vines  and  trees  go  down 
with  it  ;  then  the  rain  comes  and  washes  the  soil  away, 
and  nothing  is  left  but  barren  crags  which  would  starve 
a  lark.  In  the  same  manner  a  man  may  so  neglect 
himself,  and  so  neglect  the  things  of  God,  and  become 
so  careless  and  indifferent  about  doctrine,  and  about 
holy  living,  that  his  power  to  do  good  ceases,  and  his 
mind,  his  heart,  and  his  energy  seem  to  be  gone.  The 
prophet  said,  "  Ephraim  is  a  silly  dove,  without  heart  :" 
there  are  flocks  of  such  silly  doves.  The  man  who  trifles 
with  religion  sports  with  his  own  soul,  and  will  soon  de- 
generate into  so  much  of  a  trifler  that  he  will  be  averse 
to  solemn  thought,  and  incapable  of  real  usefulness. 
I  charge  you,  dear  friends,  to  be  sternly  true  to  your- 
selves and  to  your  God.  Stand  to  your  principles  in 
this  evil  and  wicked  day.  Now,  when  everything  seems 
to  be  turned  into  marsh  and  mire  and  mud,  and  religious 
thought  appears  to  be  silently  sliding  and  slipping 
along,  descending  like  a  stream  of  slime  into  the  Dead 
Sea  of  Unbelief — get  solid  walls  built  around  your  life, 
around  your  faith,  and  around  your  character.  Stand 


THE    BROKEN    FENCE.  37 

fast,  and  having  done  all,  still  stand.  May  God  the 
Holy  Ghost  cause  you  to  be  rooted  and  grounded,  built 
up  and  established,  fixed  and  confirmed,  never  "  cast- 
ing away  your  confidence,  which  hath  great  recom- 
pense of  reward." 

Lastly,  I  want,  if  I  can,  TO  WAKE  UP  THE  SLUGGARD. 
I  would  like  to  throw  a  handful  of  gravel  up  to  his  win- 
dow. It  is  time  to  get  up,  for  the  sun  has  drunk  up  all 
the  dew.  He  craves  "a  little  more  sleep."  My  dear 
fellow,  if  you  take  a  little  more  sleep,  you  will  never 
wake  at  all  till  you  lift  up  your  eyes  in  another  world. 
Wake  at  once.  Leap  from  your  bed  before  you  are 
smothered  in  it.  Wake  up  !  Do  you  not  see  where 
you  are  ?  You  have  let  things  alone  till  your  heart  is 
covered  with  sins  like  weeds.  You  have  neglected  God 
and  Christ  till  you  have  grown  worldly,  sinful,  careless, 
indifferent,  ungodly.  I  mean  some  of  you  v.  ho  were  once 
named  with  the  sacred  name.  You  have  become  like 
worldlings,  and  are  almost  as  far  from  being  what  you 
ought  to  be  as  others  who  make  no  profession  at  all. 
Look  at  yourselves  and  see  what  has  come  of  your  ne- 
glected walls.  Then  look  at  some  of  your  fellow-Chris- 
tians, and  mark  how  diligent  they  are.  Look  at  many 
among  them  who  are  poor  and  illiterate,  and  yet  they 
are  doing  far  more  than  you  for  the  Lord  Jesus.  In 
spite  of  your  talents  and  opportunities,  you  are  an  un- 
profitable servant,  letting  all  things  run  to  waste.  Is  it 
not  time  that  you  bestirred  yourself  ?  Look,  again, 
at  others  who,  like  yourself,  went  to  sleep,  mean- 
ing to  wake  in  a  little  while.  What  has  become 
of  them  ?  Alas,  for  those  who  have  fallen  into  gross 
sin,  and  dishonored  their  character,  and  who  have  been 


38  TALK,S    TO    FARMERS. 

put  away  from  the  church  of  God  ;  yet  they  only  went 
a  little  farther  than  you  have  done.  Your  state  of  heart 
is  much  the  same  as  theirs,  and  if  you  should  be  tempt- 
ed as  they  have  been,  you  will  probably  make  ship- 
wreck as  they  have  done.  Oh,  see  to  it,  you  that  slum- 
ber, for  an  idle  professor  is  ready  for  anything.  A 
slothful  professor's  heart  is  tinder  for  the  devil's  tinder- 
box  ;  does  your  heart  thus  invite  the  sparks  of  tempta- 
tion ? 

Remember,  lastly,  the  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Shall  he  come  and  find  you  sleeping  ?  Remem- 
ber the  judgment.  What  will  you  say  to  excuse  your- 
self, for  opportunities  lost,  time  wasted,  and  talents 
wrapped  up  in  a  napkin,  when  the  Lord  shall  come  ? 

As  for  you,  my  unconverted  friend,  if  you  go  dream- 
ing through  this  world,  without  any  sort  of  trouble, 
and  never  look  to  the  state  of  your  heart  at  all,  you  will 
be  a  lost  man  beyond  all  question.  The  slothful  can 
have  no  hope,  for  "  if  the  righteous  scarcely  are  saved," 
who  strive  to  serve  their  Lord,  where  will  those  appear 
who  sleep  on  in  defiance  of  the  calls  of  God  ?  Salvation 
is  wholly  and  alone  of  grace,  as  you  well  know  ;  but 
grace  never  works  in  men's  minds  toward  slumbering 
and  indifference;  it  tends  toward  energy,  activity,  fer- 
vor, importunity,  self-sacrifice.  God  grant  us  the  in- 
dwelling of  his  Holy  Spirit,  that  all  things  may  be  set 
in  order,  sins  cut  up  by  the  roots  within  the  heart,  and 
the  whole  man  protected  by  sanctifying  grace  from  the 
wasters  which  lurk  around,  hoping  to  enter  where  the 
wall  is  low.  O  Lord,  remember  us  in  mercy,  fence  us 
about  by  thy  power,  and  keep  us  from  the  sloth  which 
would  expose  us  to  evil,  for  Jesus'  sake.  Amen. 


FROST   AND   THAW. 

"  He  giveth  snow  like  wool :  he  scattereth  the  hoarfrost  like  ashes.  He 
casteth  forth  his  ice  like  morsels  :  who  can  stand  before  his  cold  ?  He  sendeth 
out  his  word,  and  melteth  them:  he  causeth  his  wind  to  blow,  and  the  waters 
flow.  "—PSALM  147  :  16-18. 

LOOKING  out  of  our  window  one  morning  we  saw  the 
earth  robed  in  a  white  mantle  ;  for  in  a  few  short  hours 
the  earth  had  been  covered  to  a  considerable  depth  with 
snow.  We  looked  out  again  hi  a  few  hours  and  saw  the 
fields  as  green  as  ever,  and  the  ploughed  fields  as  bare 
as  if  no  single  flake  had  fallen.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing 
for  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  to  be  followed  by  a  rapid  thaw. 

These  interesting  changes  are  wrought  by  God,  not 
only  with  a  purpose  toward  the  outward  world,  but 
with  some  design  toward  the  spiritual  realm.  God  is 
always  a  teacher.  In  every  action  that  he  performs  he 
is  instructing  his  own  children,  and  opening  up  to  them 
the  road  to  inner  mysteries.  Happy  are  those  who  find 
food  for  their  heaven-born  spirits,  as  well  as  for  their 
mental  powers,  in  the  works  of  the  Lord's  hand. 

I  shall  ask  your  attention,  first,  to  the  operations  of  na- 
ture spoken  of  in  the  text ;  and,  secondly,  to  those  operations 
of  grace  of  which  they  are  the  most  fitting  symbols. 

I.  Consider,  first,  THE  OPERATIONS  OF  NATURE.  We 
shall  not  think  a  few  minutes  wasted  if  we  call  your  at- 
tention to  the  hand  of  God  m  frost  and  thaw,  even 
upon  natural  grounds. 


40  TALKS  TO  FARMERS. 

i.  Observe  the  directness  of  the  Lord's  work.  I  re- 
joice, as  I  read  these  words,  to  find  how  present  our 
God  is  in  the  world.  It  is  not  written,  "  the  laws  of 
nature  produce  snow,"  but  "  HE giveth snmv, "  as  if  every 
flake  came  directly  from  the  palm  of  his  hand.  We  are 
not  told  that  certain  natural  regulations  form  moisture 
into  hoarfrost  ;  no,  but  as  Moses  took  ashes  of  the  fur- 
nace and  scattered  them  upon  Egypt,  so  it  is  said  of  the 
Lord  "  HE  scatter eth  the  hoarfrost  like  ashes. "  It  is  not 
said  that  the  Eternal  has  set  the  world  going  and  by 
the  operation  of  its  machinery  ice  is  produced.  Oh, 
no,  but  every  single  granule  of  ice  descending  in  the 
hail  is  from  God  ;  "  HE  casteth  forth  his  ice  like  morsels." 
Even  as  the  slinger  distinctly  sends  the  stone  out  of  his 
sling,  so  the  path  of  every  hailstone  is  marked  by  the 
Divine  power.  The  ice  is  called,  you  observe,  his  ice  ; 
and  in  the  next  sentence  we  read  of  his  cold.  These 
words  make  nature  strangely  magnificent.  When  we 
look  upon  every  hailstone  as  God's  hail,  and  upon  every 
fragment  of  ice  as  his  ice,  how  precious  the  watery  dia- 
monds become  !  When  we  feel  the  cold  nipping  our 
limbs  and  penetrating  through  every  garment,  it  con- 
soles us  to  remember  that  it  is  his  cold.  When  the 
thaw  comes,  see  how  the  text  speaks  of  it  : — "  he  sendeth 
out  his  word"  He  does  not  leave  it  to  certain  forces  of 
nature,  but  like  a  king,  "  He  sendeth  out  his  word  and 
melttth  them  :  he  causeth  HIS  wind  to  blow."  He  has  a  spe- 
cial property  in  every  wind  ;  whether  it  comes  from  the 
north  to  freeze,  or  from  the  south  to  melt,  it  is  his  wind. 
Behold  how  in  God's  temple  everything  speaketh  of  his 
glory.  Learn  to  see  the  Lord  in  all  scenes  of  the  visible 
universe,  for  truly  he  worketh  all  things. 

This  thought  of  the  directness  of  the  Divine  opera- 


FROST    AND    THAW.  41 

tions  must  be  carried  into  providence.  It  will  greatly 
comfort  you  if  you  can  see  God's  hand  in  your  losses 
and  crosses  ;  surely  you  will  not  murmur  against  the 
direct  agency  of  your  God.  This  will  put  an  extraor- 
dinary sweetness  into  daily  mercies,  and  make  the  com- 
forts of  life  more  comfortable  still,  because  they  are 
from  a  Father's  hand.  If  your  table  be  scantily  fur- 
nished it  shall  suffice  for  your  contented  heart,  when  you 
know  that  your  Father  spread  it  for  you  in  wisdom  and 
love.  This  shall  bless  your  bread  and  your  water  ;  this 
shall  make  the  bare  walls  of  an  ill-furnished  room  as 
resplendent  as  a  palace,  and  turn  a  hard  bed  into  a 
couch  of  down  ; — my  Father  doth  it  all.  We  see  his 
smile  of  love  even  when  others  see  nothing  but  the  black 
hand  of  Death  smiting  our  best  beloved.  We  see  a 
Father's  hand  when  the  pestilence  lays  our  cattle  dead 
upon  the  plain.  We  see  God  at  work  in  mercy  when 
we  ourselves  are  stretched  upon  the  bed  of  languishing. 
It  is  ever  our  Father's  act  and  deed.  Do  not  let  us  get 
beyond  this  ;  but  rather  let  us  enlarge  our  view  of  this 
truth,  and  remember  that  this  is  true  of  the  little  as 
well  as  of  the  great.  Let  the  lines  of  a  true  poet  strike 
you  : — 

"  If  pestilence  stalk  through  the   land,  ye  say  the  Lord  hath  done  it — 
Hath  he  not  done  it  when  an  aphis  creepeth  upon  the  rosebud  ? 
I  f  an  avalanche  tumbles  from  its  Alp,  ye  tremble  at  the  will  of  Providence — 
Is  not  that  will  as  much  concerned  when  the  sere  leaves  fall  from  the  poplar  ?  " 

Let  your  hearts  sing  of  everything,  Jehovah-Shammah, 
the  Lord  is  there. 

2.  Next,  I  beg  you  to  observe,  with  thanksgiving, 
the  ease  of  Divine  working.  These  verses  read  as  if  the 
making  of  frost  and  snow  were  the  simplest  matter  in 
all  the  world.  A  man  puts  his  hand  into  a  wool-pack  and 


42  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

throws  out  the  wool  ;  God  giveth  snow  as  easily  as  that : 
"  He  giveth  snow  like  wool."  A  man  takes  up  a  hand- 
ful of  ashes,  and  throws  them  into  the  air,  so  that  they 
fall  around  :  "  He  scattereth  the  hoarfrost  like  ashes." 
Rime  and  snow  are  marvels  of  nature  :  those  who  have 
observed  the  extraordinary  beauty  of  the  ice-crystals 
have  been  enraptured,  and  yet  they  are  easily  formed 
by  the  Lord.  "  He  casteth  forth  his  ice  like  morsels" 
— just  as  easily  as  we  cast  crumbs  of  bread  outside  the 
window  to  the  robins  during  wintry  days.  When  the 
rivers  are  hard  frozen,  and  the  earth  is  held  in  iron 
chains,  then  the  melting  of  the  whole — how  is  that 
done  ?  Not  by  kindling  innumerable  fires,  nor  by  send- 
ing electric  shocks  from  huge  batteries  through  the  in- 
terior of  the  earth — no  ;  "  He  sendeth  forth  his  word, 
and  melteth  them  ;  he  causeth  his  wind  to  blow,  and 
the  waters  flow."  The  whole  matter  is  accomplished 
with  a  word  and  a  breath.  If  you  and  I  had  any  great 
thing  to  do,  what  puffing  and  panting,  what  straining 
and  tugging  there  would  be  :  even  the  great  engineers, 
who  perform  marvels  by  machinery,  make  much  noise 
and  stir  about  it.  It  is  not  so  with  the  Almighty  One. 
Our  globe  spins  round  in  four-and-twenty  hours,  and 
yet  it  does  not  make  so  much  noise  as  a  humming-top  ; 
and  yonder  ponderous  worlds  rolling  in  space  track 
their  way  in  silence.  If  I  enter  a  factory  I  hear  a  deaf- 
ening din,  or  if  I  stand  near  the  village  mill,  turned  by 
water  dropping  over  a  wheel,  there  is  a  never-ceasing 
click-clack,  or  an  undying  hum  ;  but  God's  great 
wheels  revolve  without  noise  or  friction  :  divine  ma- 
chinery works  smoothly.  This  ease  is  seen  in  provi- 
dence as  well  as  in  nature.  Your  heavenly  Father  is  as 
able  to  deliver  you  as  he  is  to  melt  the  snow,  and  he  will 


FROST    AND    THAW.  43 

deliver  you  in  as  simple  a  manner  if  you  rest  upon  him. 
He  openeth  his  hand,  and  supplies  the  want  of  every 
living  thing  as  readily  as  he  works  in  nature.  Mark  the 
ease  of  God's  working — he  does  but  open  his  hand. 

3.  Notice  in  the  next  place  the  variety  of  the  Divine 
operations  in  nature.     When  the  Lord  is  at  work  with 
frost  as  his  tool  he  creates  snow,  a  wonderful  produc- 
tion, every  crystal  being  a  marvel  of  art  ;  but  then  he  is 
not  content  with  snow — from   the  same  water  he  makes 
another  form  of  beauty  which  we  call  hoarfrost,  and  yet 
a  third  lustrous  sparkling  substance,   namely  glittering 
ice  ;  and  all  these  by  the  one  agency  of  cold.     What  a 
marvellous  variety   the  educated   eye  can  detect  in  the 
several  forms  of  frozen  water  !     The  same  God  who  so- 
lidified the  flood  with  cold  soon  melts  it  with  warmth  ; 
but  even  in  thaw  there  is  no  monotony  of  manner  :  at 
one   time    the  joyous    streams  rush   with    such  impet- 
uosity from  their   imprisonment  that  rivers  are  swollen 
and  floods  cover  the  plain  ;  at  another  time  by  slow  de- 
grees, in  scanty  driblets,  the  drops  regain  their  freedom. 
The  same  variety  is  seen  in  every  department  of  nature. 
So  in  providence  the  Lord   has  a  thousand   forms  of 
frosty  trials  with  which  to  try  his  people,  and  he  has  ten 
thousand  beams  of  mercy  with  which  to  cheer  and  com- 
fort them.     He  can  afflict  you  with  the  snow  trial,  or 
with  the  hoarfrost  trial,  or  with  the  ice  trial,  if  he  will  ; 
and  anon  he  can  with  his  word  relax  the  bonds  of  ad- 
versity, and  that  in  countless  ways.     Whereas  men  are 
tied  to  two  or  three  methods  in    accomplishing  their 
will,  God  is  infinite  in  understanding  and  worketh  as 
he  wills  by  ways  unguessed  of  mortal  mind. 

4.  I  shall  ask  you  also  to  consider  the  works  of  God 
in  nature  in  their  swiftness.     It  was  thought  a  wonderful 


44  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

thing  in  the  days  of  Ahasuerus  that  letters  were  sent  by 
post  upon  swift  dromedaries.  In  our  country  we 
thought  we  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  miracles  when  the 
axles  of  our  cars  glowed  with  speed,  and  now  that  the 
telegraph  is  at  work  we  stretch  out  our  hands  into  in- 
finity ;  but  what  is  our  rapidity  compared  with  that  of 
God's  operations  ?  Well  does  the  text  say,  "  He  send- 
eth  forth  his  commandment  upon  earth  :  his  word  run- 
neth very  swiftly."  Forth  went  the  word,  "  Open  the 
treasures  of  snow,"  and  the  flakes  descended  in  innu- 
merable multitudes  ;  and  then  it  was  said,  "  Let  them 
be  closed,"  and  not  another  snow-feather  was  seen. 
Then  spake  the  Master,  "  Let  the  south  wind  blow 
and  the  snow  be  melted"  :  lo,  it  disappeared  at  the 
voice  of  his  word.  Believer,  you  cannot  tell  how  soon 
God  may  come  to  your  help.  "  He  rode  upon  a  cherub 
and  did  fly,"  says  David  ;  "  yea,  he  did  fly  upon  the 
wings  of  the  wind."  He  will  come  from  above  to  res- 
cue his  beloved.  He  will  rend  the  heavens  and  come 
down  ;  with  such  speed  will  he  descend,  that  he  will 
not  stay  to  draw  the  curtains  of  heaven,  but  he  will  rend 
them  in  his  haste,  and  make  the  mountains  to  flow 
down  at  his  feet,  that  he  may  deliver  those  jwho  cry 
unto  him  in  the  hour  of  trouble.  That  mighty  God 
who  can  melt  the  ice  so  speedily  can  take  to  himself  the 
same  eagle  wings,  and  haste  to  your  deliverance.  Arise, 
O  God  !  and  let  thy  children  be  helped,  and  that  right 
early. 

5.  One  other  thought  :  consider  ihegoodness  of  God 
in  all  the  operations  of  nature  and  providence.  Think 
of  that  goodness  negatively.  "  Who  can  stand  before 
his  cold  ?"  You  cannot  help  thinking  of  the  poor  in  a 
hard  winter — only  a  hard  heart  can  forget  them  when 


FROST    AND    THAW.  45 

you  see  the  snow  lying  deep.  But  suppose  that  snow 
continued  to  fall  !  What  is  there  to  hinder  it  ?  The 
same  God  who  sends  us  snow  for  one  day  could  do  the 
like  for  fifty  days  if  he  pleased.  Why  not  ?  And  when 
the  frost  pinches  us  so  severely,  why  should  it  not  be 
continued  month  after  month  ?  We  can  only  thank  the 
goodness  which  does  not  send  "  His  cold"  to  such  an 
extent  that  our  spirits  expire.  Travellers  toward  the 
North  Pole  tremble  as  they  think  of  this  question, 
"  Who  can  stand  before  his  cold  ?"  For  cold  has  a  de- 
gree of  omnipotence  in  it  when  God  is  pleased  to  let  it 
loose.  Let  us  thank  God  for  the  restraining  mercy  by 
which  he  holds  the  cold  in  check. 

Not  only  negatively,  but  positively  there  is  mercy 
in  the  snow.  Is  not  that  a  suggestive  metaphor  ?  "  He 
giveth  snow  like  wool."  The  snow  is  said  to  warm  the 
earth  ;  it  protects  those  little  plants  which  have  just  be- 
gun to  peep  above  the  ground,  and  might  otherwise  be 
frost-bitten  ;  as  with  a  garment  of  down  the  snow  pro- 
tects them  from  the  extreme  severity  of  cold.  Hence 
Watts  sings,  in  his  version  of  the  hundred  and  forty- 
seventh  Psalm — 

"  His  flakes  of  snow  like  wool  he  sends, 
And  thus  the  springing  corn  defends.  " 

It  was  an  idea  of  the  ancients  that  snow  warmed  the 
heart  of  the  soil,  and  gave  it  fertility,  and  therefore 
they  praised  God  for  it.  Certainly  there  is  much  mercy 
in  the  frost,  for  pestilence  might  run  a  far  longer  race 
if  it  were  not  that  the  frost  cries  to  it,  "  Hitherto  shalt 
thou  come,  but  no  farther."  Noxious  insects  would 
multiply  until  they  devoured  the  precious  fruits  of  the 
earth,  if  sharp  nights  did  not  destroy  millions  of  them, 
so  that  these  pests  are  swept  off  the  earth.  Though  man 


46  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

may  think  himself  a  loser  by  the  cold,  he  is  a  great  ulti- 
mate gainer  by  the  decree  of  Providence  which  ordains 
winter.  The  quaint  saying  of  one  of  the  old  writers 
that  "  snow  is  wool,  and  frost  is  fire,  and  ice  is  bread, 
and  rain  is  drink,"  is  true,  though  it  sounds  like  a  par- 
adox. There  is  no  doubt  that  frost  in  breaking  up  the 
soil  promotes  fruitfulness,  and  so  the  ice  becomes  bread. 
Thus  those  agencies,  which  for  the  moment  deprive 
our  workers  of  their  means  of  sustenance,  are  the 
means  by  which  God  supplies  every  living  thing. 
Mark,  then,  God's  goodness  as  clearly  in  the  snow  and 
frost  as  in  the  thaw  which  clears  the  winter's  work  away. 
Christian,  remember  the  goodness  of  God  in  the  frost 
of  adversity.  Rest  assured  that  when  God  is  pleased  to 
send  out  the  biting  winds  of  affliction  he  is  in  them,  and 
he  is  always  love,  as  much  love  in  sorrow  as  when  he 
breathes  upon  you  the  soft  south  wind  of  joy.  See  the 
lovingkindness  of  God  in  every  work  of  his  hand  ! 
Praise  him — he  maketh  summer  and  winter — let  your 
song  go  round  the  year  !  Praise  him — he  giveth 
day  and  sendeth  night — thank  him  at  all  hours  !  Cast 
not  away  your  confidence,  it  hath  great  recompense  of 
reward.  As  David  wove  the  snow,  and  rain,  and 
stormy  wind  into  a  song,  even  so  combine  your  trials, 
your  tribulations,  your  difficulties  and  adversities  into  a 
sweet  psalm  of  praise  and  say  perpetually — 

"  Let  us,  with  a  gladsome  mind, 
Praise  the  Lord,  for  he  is  kind.  " 

Thus  much  upon  the  operations  of  nature.     It  is  a  very 
tempting  theme,  but  other  fields  invite  me. 

II.  I  would  address  you  very  earnestly  and  solemn- 
ly Upon  THOSE  OPERATIONS  OF  GRACE,  OF  WHICH  FROST 
AND  THAW  ARE  THE  OUTWARD  SYMBOLS. 


FROST    AND   THAW.  47 

There  is  a  period  with  God's  own  people  when  he 
comes  to  deal  with  them  by  the  frost  of  the  law.  The  law 
is  to  the  soul  as  the  cutting  north  wind.  Faith  can  see 
love  in  it,  but  the  carnal  eye  of  sense  cannot.  It  is  a 
cold,  terrible,  comfortless  blast.  To  be  exposed  to  the 
full  force  of  the  law  of  God  would  be  to  be  frost-bitten 
with  everlasting  destruction  ;  and  even  to  feel  it  for  a 
season  would  congeal  the  marrow  of  one's  bones,  and 
make  one's  whole  being  stiff  with  affright.  "  Who  can 
stand  before  his  cold  ?"  When  the  law  comes  forth 
thundering- from  its  treasuries,  who  can  stand  before  it  ? 
The  effect  of  law-work  upon  the  soul  is  to  bind  up  the 
rivers  of  human  delight.  No  man  can  rejoice  when  the 
terrors  of  conscience  are  upon  him.  When  the  law  of 
God  is  sweeping  through  the  soul,  music  and  dancing 
lose  their  joy,  the  bowl  forgets  its  power  to  cheer,  and 
the  enchantments  of  earth  are  broken.  The  rivers  of 
pleasure  freeze  to  icy  despondency.  The  buds  of  hope 
are  suddenly  nipped,  and  the  soul  finds  no  comfort.  It 
was  satisfied  once  to  grow  rich,  but  rust  and  canker 
are  now  upon  all  gold  and  silver.  Every  promising 
hope  is  frost-bitten,  and  the  spirit  is  winter-bound  in 
despair.  This  cold  makes  the  sinner  feel  how  ragged 
his  garments  are.  He  could  strut  about,  when  it  was 
summer  weather,  and  think  his  rags  right  royal  robes, 
but  now  the  cold  frost  finds  out  every  rent  in  his  gar- 
ment, and  in  the  hands  of  the  terrible  law  he  shivers  like 
the  leaves  upon  the  aspen.  The  north  wind  of  judg- 
ment searches  the  man  through  and  through.  He  did 
not  know  what  was  in  him,  but  now  he  sees  his  inward 
parts  to  be  filled  with  corruption  and  rottenness.  These 
are  some  of  the  terrors  of  the  wintry  breath  of  the  law. 

This  frost  of  law  and  terrors  only  tends  to  harden. 


48  TALKS   T'">  FARMERS. 

Nothing  splits  the  rock  or  iTiakes  the  cliff  tumble  like 
frost  when  succeeded  by  thaw,  but  frost  alone  makes 
the  earth  like  a  mass  of  iron,  breaking  the  ploughshare 
which  would  seek  to  pierce  it.  A  sinner  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  law  of  God,  apart  from  the  gospel,  is  hard- 
ened by  despair,  and  cries,  "  There  is  no  hope,  and 
therefore  after  my  lusts  will  I  go.  Whereas  there  is  no 
heaven  for  me  after  this  life,  I  will  make  a  heaven  out 
of  this  earth  ;  and  since  hell  awaits  me,  I  will  at  least 
enjoy  such  sweets  as  sin  may  afford  me  here."  This  is 
not  the  fault  of  the  law  ;  the  blame  lies  with  the  cor- 
rupt heart  which  is  hardened  by  it  ;  yet,  nevertheless, 
such  is  its  effect. 

When  the  Lord  has  wrought  by  the  frost  of  the  law, 
he  sends  the  thaw  of  the  gospel.  When  the  south  wind 
blows  from  the  land  of  promise,  bringing  precious  re- 
membrances of  God's  fatherly  pity  and  tender  loving- 
kindness,  then  straightway  the  heart  begins  to  soften 
and  a  sense  of  blood-bought  pardon  speedily  dissolves 
it.  The  eyes  fill  with  tears,  the  heart  melts  in  tender- 
ness, rivers  of  pleasure  flow  freely,  and  buds  of  hope 
open  in  the  cheerful  air.  A  heavenly  spring  whispers 
to  the  flowers  that  were  sleeping  in  the  cold  earth  ;  they 
hear  its  voice,  and  lift  up  their  heads,  for  "  the  rain  is 
over  and  gone  ;  the  flowers  appear  on  the  earth,  the 
time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of 
the  turtle  is  heard  in  our  land."  God  sendeth  his 
Word,  saying,  "  Thy  warfare  is  accomplished,  and  thy 
sin  is  pardoned  ;"  and  when  that  blessedly  cheering 
word  comes  with  power  to  the  soul,  and  the  sweet 
breath  of  the  Holy  Spirit  acts  like  the  warm  south  wind 
upon  the  heart,  then  the  waters  flow,  and  the  mind  is 
filled  with  holy  joy,  and  light,  and  liberty. 


FROST    AND    THAW.  49 

"  The  legal  wintry  state  is  gone, 
The  frosts  are  fled,  the  spring  comes  on, 
The  sacred  turtle-dove  we  hear 
Proclaim  the  new,  the  joyful  year." 

Having  shown  you  that  there  is  a  parallel  between 
frost  and  thaw  in  nature  and  law  and  gospel  in  grace,  I 
would  utter  the  same  thoughts  concerning  grace  which 
I  gave  you  concerning  nature. 

i.  We  began  with  the  directness  of  God's  works  in 
nature.  Now,  beloved  friends,  remark  the  directness  of 
God's  works  in  grace.  When  the  heart  is  truly  affected 
by  the  law  of  God,  when  sin  is  made  to  appear  exceed- 
ing sinful,  when  carnal  hopes  are  frozen  to  death  by  the 
law,  when  the  soul  is  made  to  feel  its  barrenness  and 
utter  death  and  ruin — this  is  the  finger  of  God.  Do  not 
speak  of  the  minister.  It  was  well  that  he  preached 
earnestly  :  God  has  used  him  as  an  instrument,  but 
God  worketh  all.  When  the  thaw  of  grace  comes,  I 
pray  you  discern  the  distinct  hand  of  God  in  every  beam 
of  comfort  which  gladdens  the  troubled  conscience,  for 
it  is  the  Lord  alone  who  bindeth  up  the  broken  in  heart 
and  healeth  all  their  wounds.  We  are  far  too  apt  to 
stop  in  instrumentalities.  Folly  makes  men  look  to  sac- 
raments for  heart-breaking  or  heart-healing,  but  sacra- 
ments all  say,  "  It  is  not  in  us."  Some  of  you  look  to 
the  preaching  of  the  Word,  and  look  no  higher  ;  but  all 
true  preachers  will  tell  you,  "  It  is  not  in  us."  Elo- 
quence and  earnestness  at  their  highest  pitch  can  neither 
break  nor  heal  a  heart.  This  is  God's  work.  Ay,  and 
not  God's  secondary  work  in  the  sense  in  which  the  phi- 
losopher admits  that  God  is  in  the  laws  of  nature,  but 
God's  personal  and  immediate  work.  He  putteth  forth 
his  own  hand  when  the  conscience  is  humbled,  and  it  is 


50  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

by  his  own  right  hand  that  the  conscience  is  eased  and 
cleansed. 

I  desire  that  this  thought  may  abide  upon  your 
minds,  for  you  will  not  praise  God  else,  nor  will  you  be 
sound  in  doctrine.  All  departures  from  sound  doc- 
trine on  the  point  of  conversion  arise  from  forgetfulness 
that  it  is  a  divine  work  from  first  to  last  ;  that  the  faint- 
est desire  after  Christ  is  as  much  the  work  of  God  as  the 
gift  of  his  dear  Son  ;  and  that  our  whole  spiritual  his- 
tory through,  from  the  Alpha  to  the  Omega,  the  Holy 
Spirit  works  in  us  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good 
pleasure.  As  you  have  evidently  seen  the  finger  of 
God  in  casting  forth  his  ice  and  in  sending  thaw,  so  I 
pray  you  recognize  the  handiwork  of  God  in  giving  you 
a  sense  of  sin,  and  in  bringing  you  to  the  Saviour's  feet. 
Join  together  in  heartily  praising  the  wonder-working 
God,  who  doeth  all  things  according  to  the  counsel  of 
his  will. 

"  Our  seeking  thy  face 

Was  all  of  thy  grace, 
Thy  mercy  demands,  and  shall  have  all  the  praise : 

No  sinner  can  be 

Beforehand  with  thee, 
Thy  grace  is  preventing,  almighty  and  free." 

2.  The  second  thought  upon  nature  was  the  ease  with 
which  the  Lord  worked.  There  was  no  effort  or  disturb- 
ance. Transfer  that  to  the  work  of  grace.  How  easy 
it  is  for  God  to  send  law-work  into  the  soul!  You  stub- 
born sinner,  you  cannot  touch  him,  and  even  providence 
has  failed  to  awaken  him.  He  is  dead — altogether  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins.  But  if  the  glorious  Lord  will 
graciously  send  forth  the  wind  of  his  Spirit,  that  will 
melt  him.  The  swearing  reprobate,  whose  mouth  is 
blackened  with  profanity,  if  the  Lord  doth  but  look 


FROST    AND    THAW.  $  I 

upon  him  and  make  bare  his  arm  of  irresistible  grace, 
shall  yet  praise  God,  and  bless  his  name,  and  live  to  his 
honor.  Do  not  limit  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  Persecut- 
ing Saul  became  loving  Paul,  and  why  should  not  that 
person  be  saved  of  whose  case  you  almost  despair  ? 
Your  husband  may  have  many  points  which  make  his 
case  difficult,  but  no  case  is  desperate  with  God.  Your 
son  may  have  offended  both  against  heaven  and  against 
you,  but  God  can  save  the  most  hardened.  The  sharpest 
frost  of  obstinate  sin  must  yield  to  the  thaw  of  grace. 
Even  huge  icebergs  of  crime  must  melt  in  the  Gulf- 
stream  of  infinite  love. 

Poor  sinner,  I  cannot  leave  this  point  without  a 
word  to  you.  Perhaps  the  Master  has  sent  the  frost  to 
you,  and  you  think  it  will  never  end.  Let  me  encour- 
age you  to  hope,  and  yet  more,  to  pray  for  gracious 
visitations.  Miss  Steele's  verses  will  just  suit  your 
mournful  yet  hopeful  state. 

"  Stern  winter  throws  his  icy  chains, 

Encircling  nature  round: 
How  bleak,  how  comfortless  the  plains, 
Late  with  gay  verdure  crown'd  ! 

The  sun  withdraws  his  vital  beams, 

And  light  and  warmth  depart : 
And,  drooping  lifeless,  nature  seems 

An  emblem  of  my  heart — 

My  heart,  where  mental  winter  reigns 

In  night's  dark  mantle  clad, 
Confined  in  cold,  inactive  chains  ; 

How  desolate  and  sad  ! 

Return,  O  blissful  sun,  and  bring 

Thy  soul-reviving  ray ; 
This  mental  winter  shall  be  spring, 

This  darkness  cheerful  day.  " 

It  is  easy  for  God  to  deliver  you.    He  says,  "  I  have 


52  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

blotted  out  like  a  thick  cloud  thy  transgressions."  I 
stood  the  other  evening  looking  up  at  a  black  cloud 
Which  was  covering  all  the  heavens,  and  I  thought  it 
would  surely  rain  ;  I  entered  the  house,  and  when  I 
came  out  again  the  sky  was  all  blue — the  wind  had 
driven  the  cloud  away.  So  may  it  be  with  your  soul. 
It  is  an  easy  thing  for  the  Lord  to  put  away  sin  from 
repenting  sinners.  All  obstacles  which  hindered  our 
pardon  were  removed  by  Jesus  when  he  died  upon  the 
tree,  and  if  you  believe  in  him  you  will  find  that  he  has 
cast  your  sins  into  the  depths  of  the  sea.  If  thou  canst 
believe,  all  things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth. 

3.  The  next  thought  concerning  the  Lord's  work 
in  nature  was  the  variety  of  it.  Frost  produces  a  sort  of 
trinity  in  unity — snow,  hoarfrost,  ice  ;  and  when  the 
thaw  comes  its  ways  are  many.  So  it  is  with  God  in 
the  heart.  Conviction  comes  not  alike  to  all.  Some 
convictions  fall  as  the  snow  from  heaven  :  you  never 
hear  the  flakes  descend,  they  alight  so  gently  one  upon 
the  other;  There  are  soft-coming  convictions  ;  they 
are  felt,  but  we  can  scarcely  tell  when  we  began  to  feel 
them.  A  true  work  of  repentance  may  be  of  the  gen- 
tlest kind.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Lord  casteth  forth 
his  ice  like  morsels,  the  hailstones  rattle  against  the 
window,  and  you  think  they  will  surely  force  their  way 
into  the  room,  and  so  to  many  persons  convictions  come 
beating  down  till  they  remind  you  of  hailstones.  There 
is  variety.  It  is  as  true  a  frost  which  produces  the 
noiseless  snow  as  that  which  brings  forth  the  terrible 
hail.  Why  should  you  want  hailstones  of  terror  ?  Be 
thankful  that  God  has  visited  you,  but  do  not  dictate 
to  him  the  way  of  his  working. 

With  regard  to  the  gospel  thaw.     If  you  may  but 


FROST    AND    THAW.  53 

be  pardoned  by  Jesus,  do  not  stipulate  as  to  the  man- 
ner of  his  grace.  Thaw  is  universal  and  gradual,  but 
its  commencement  is  not  always  discernible.  The 
chains  of  winter  are  unloosed  by  degrees  :  the  surface 
ice  and  snow  melt,  and  by  and  by  the  warmth  perme- 
ates the  entire  mass  till  every  rock  of  ice  gives  way. 
But  while  thaw  is  universal  and  visible  in  its  effects  you 
cannot  see  the  mighty  power  which  is  doing  all  this. 
Even  so  you  must  not  expect  to  discern  the  Spirit  of 
God.  You  will  find  him  gradually  operating  upon  the 
entire  man,  enlightening  the  understanding,  freeing  the 
will,  delivering  the  heart  from  fear,  inspiring  hope, 
waking  up  the  whole  spirit,  gradually  and  universally 
working  upon  the  mind  and  producing  the. manifest  ef- 
fects of  comfort,  and  hope,  and  peace  ;  but  you  can  no 
more  see  the  Spirit  of  God  than  you  can  see  the  south" 
wind.  The  effect  of  his  power  is  to  be  felt,  and  when 
you  feel  it,  do  not  marvel  if  it  be  somewhat  different 
from  what  others  have  experienced.  After  all,  there  is 
a  singular  likeness  in  snow  and  hoarfrost  and  ice,  and 
so  there  is  a  remarkable  sameness  in  the  experience  of 
all  God's  children  ;  but  still  .there  is  a  great  variety  in 
the  inward  operations  of  divine  grace. 

4.  We  must  next  notice  the  rapidity  of  God's  works, 
"  His  word  runneth  very  swiftly."  It  did  not  take 
many  days  to  get  rid  of  the  last  snow.  A  contractor 
would  take  many  a  day  to  cart  it  away,  but  God  send- 
eth  forth  his  word,  and  the  snow  and  ice  disappear  at 
once.  So  is  it  with  the  soul:  the  Lord  often  works 
rapidly  when  he  cheers  the  heart.  You  may  have  been 
a  long  time  under  the  operation  of  his  frosty  law,  but 
there  is  no  reason  why  you  should  be  another  hour 
under  it.  If  the  Spirit  enables  you  to  trust  in  the  fin- 


54  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

ished  work  of  Christ,  you  may  go  out  of  this  house  re- 
joicing that  every  sin  is  forgiven.  Poor  soul,  do  not 
think  that  the  way  from  the  horrible  pit  is  to  climb,  step 
by  step,  to  the  top.  Oh  no  ;  Jesus  can  set  your  feet 
upon  a  rock  ere  the  clock  shall  have  gone  round  the 
dial.  He  can  in  an  instant  bring  you  from  death  to  life, 
from  condemnation  to  justification.  "  To-day  shall  thou 
be  with  me  in  Paradise,"  was  spoken  to  a  dying  thief, 
black  and  defiled  with  sin.  Only  believe  in  the  atoning 
sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved. 

5.  Our  last  thought  upon  the  operation  of  God  was 
his  goodness  in  it  all.  What  a  blessing  that  God  did  not 
send  us  more  law-work  than  he  did  !  "  Who  can  stand 
before  his  cold  ?"  Oh  !  beloved,  when  God  has  taken 
away  from  man  natural  comfort,  and  made  him  feel  di- 
vine wrath  in  his  soul,  it  is  an  awful  thing.  Speak  of  a 
haunted  man  ;  no  man  need  be  haunted  with  a  worse 
ghost  than  the  remembrance  of  his  old  sins.  The  child- 
ish tale  of  the  sailor  with  the  old  man  of  the  mountain 
on  his  back,  who  pressed  him  more  and  more  heavily,  is 
more  than  realized  in  the  history  of  the  troubled  con- 
science. If  one  sin  do  but.  leap  on  a  man's  back,  it  will 
sink  the  sinner  through  every  standing-place  that  he  can 
possibly  mount  upon  ;  he  will  go  down,  down,  under  its 
weight,  till  he  sinks  to  the  lowest  depths  of  hell.  There 
is  no  place  where  sin  can  be  borne  till  you  get  upon  the 
Rock  of  Ages,  and  even  there  the  joy  is  not  that  you  bear 
it,  but  that  Jesus  has  borne  it  all  for  you.  The  spirit 
would  utterly  fail  before  the  law,  if  it  had  full  sway. 
Thank  God,  "  he  stayeth  his  rough  wind  in  the  day  of 
his  east  wind."  At  the  same  time,  how  thankful  we 
may  be,  that  we  ever  felt  the  law-frost  in  our  soul.  The 
folly  of  self-righteousness  is  killed  by  the  winter  of  con- 


FROST    AND    THAW.  55 

viction.  We  should  have  been  a  thousand  times  more 
proud,  and  foolish,  and  worldly,  than  we  are,  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  sharp  frost  with  which  the  Lord  nipped 
the  growths  of  the  flesh. 

But  how  shall  we  thank  him  sufficiently  for  the 
thaw  of  his  lovingkindness  ?  How  great  the  change 
which  his  mercy  made  in  us  as  soon  as  its  beams  had 
reached  our  soul  !  Hardness  vanished,  cold  departed, 
warmth  and  love  abounded,  and  the  life-floods  leaped  in 
their  channels.  The  Lord  visited  us,  and  we  rose  from 
our  grave  of  despair,  even  as  the  seeds  arise  from  the 
earth.  As  the  bulb  of  the  crocus  holds  up  its  golden 
cup  to  be  filled  with  sunshine,  so  did  our  new-born  faith 
open  itself  to  the  glory  of  the  Lord.  As  the  primrose 
peeps  up  from  the  sod  to  gaze  upon  the  sun,  so  did  our 
hope  look  forth  for  the  promise,  and  delight  itself  in 
the  Lord.  Thank  God  that  spring-tide  has  with  many 
of  us  matured  into  summer,  and  winter  has  gone  never 
to  return.  We  praise  the  Lord  for  this  every  day  of  our 
lives,  and  we  will  praise  him  when  time  shall  be  no 
more  in  that  sunny  land — 

"  Where  everlasting  spring  abides, 

And  never  withering  flowers. 
A  thread-like  stream  alone  divides 
That  heavenly  land  from  ours.  " 

Believe  in  the  Lord,  ye  who  shiver  in  the  frost  of 
the  law,  and  the  thaw  of  love  shall  soon  bring  you  warm 
days  of  joy  and  peace.  So  be  it.  Amen. 


THE    CORN     OF    WHEAT    DYING    TO     BRING 
FORTH    FRUIT. 

"  And  Jesus  answered  them,  saying,  The  hour  is  come,  that  the  Son  of  man 
should  be  glorified.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall 
into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone  :  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much 
fruit.  He  that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it :  and  he  that  hateth  his  life  in  thi» 
world  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal.  "  — JOHN  12  :  23-25. 

CERTAIN  Greeks  desired  to  see  Jesus.  These  were 
Gentiles  and  it  was  remarkable  that  they  should,  just  at 
this  time,  have  sought  an  interview  with  our  Lord.  I 
suppose  that  the  words  "  We  would  see  Jesus"  did  not 
merely  mean  that  they  would  like  to  look  at  him,  for 
that  they  could  have  done  in  the  public  streets  ;  but 
they  would  "  see"  him  as  we  speak  of  seeing  a  person 
with  whom  we  wish  to  hold  a  conversation.  They  de- 
sired to  be  introduced  to  him,  and  to  have  a  few  words 
of  instruction  from  him. 

These  Greeks  were  the  advanced  guard  of  that  great 
multitude  that  no  man  can  number,  of  all  nations,  and 
people,  and  tongues,  who  are  yet  to  come  to  Christ. 
The  Saviour  would  naturally  feel  a  measure  of  joy  at 
the  sight  of  them,  but  he  did  not  say  much  about  it,  for 
his  mind  was  absorbed  just  then  with  thoughts  of  his 
great  sacrifice  and  its  results  ;  yet  he  took  so  much  no- 
tice of  the  coming  of  these  Gentiles  to  him  that  it  gave 
a  color  to  the  words  which  are  here  recorded  by  his 
servant  John. 


THE  CORN  OF  WHEAT  DYING  TO  BRING  FORTH  FRUIT.      57 

I  notice  that  the  Saviour  here  displays  his  broad  human- 
ity, and  announces  himself  as  the  "  Son  of  man."  He 
had  done  so  before,  but  here  with  new  intent.  He  says, 
"  The  hour  is  come,  that  the  Son  of  man  should  be 
glorified."  Not  as  "  the  Son  of  David"  does  he  here 
speak  of  himself,  but  as  "  the  Son  of  man."  No  longer 
does  he  make  prominent  the  Jewish  side  of  his  mission, 
though  as  a  preacher  he  was  npt  sent  save  to  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  honse  of  Israel  ;  but  as  the  dying  Saviour 
he  speaks  of  himself  as  one  of  the  race,  not  the  Son  of 
Abraham,  or  of  David,  but  "  the  Son  of  man":  as  much 
brother  to  the  Gentile  as  to  the  Jew.  Let  us  never  for- 
get the  broad  humanity  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  In  him  all 
kindreds  of  the  earth  are  joined  in  one,  for  he  is  not 
ashamed  to  bear  the  nature  of  our  universal  manhood  ; 
black  and  white,  prince  and  pauper,  sage  and  savage, 
all  see  in  his  veins  the  one  blood  by  which  all  men  are 
constituted  one  family.  As  the  Son  of  man  Jesus  is 
near  akin  to  every  man  that  lives. 

Now,  too,  that  the  Greeks  were  come,  our  Lord  speaks 
somewhat  of  his  glory  as  approaching.  "  The  hour  is 
come,"  saith  he,  "  that  the  Son  of  man  should  be  glori- 
fied. ' '  He  does  not  say  "  that  the  Son  of  man  should  be 
crucified,"  though  that  was  true,  and  the  crucifixion 
must  come  before  the  glorification  ;  but  the  sight  of 
those  first-fruits  from  among  the  Gentiles  makes  him 
dwell  upon  his  glory.  Though  he  remembers  his  death, 
he  speaks  rather  of  the  glory  which  would  grow  out  of 
his  great  sacrifice.  Remember,  brethren,  that  Christ  is 
glorified  in  the  souls  that  he  saves.  As  a  physician  wins 
honor  by  those  he  heals,  so  the  Physician  of  souls  gets 
glory  out  of  those  who  come  to  him.  When  these  de- 
vout Greeks  came,  saying,  "  Sirs,  we  would  see  Jesus," 


$8  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

though  a  mere  desire  to  see  him  is  only  as  the  green 
blade,  yet  he  rejoiced  in  it  as  the  pledge  of  the  harvest, 
and  he  saw  in  it  the  dawn  of  the  glory  of  his  cross. 

I  think,  too,  that  the  coming  of  these  Greeks  some- 
what led  the  Saviour  to  use  the  metaphor  of  the  buried  corn. 
We  are  informed  that  wheat  was  largely  mixed  up  with 
Grecian  mysteries,  but  that  is  of  small  importance.  It 
is  more  to  the  point  that  our  Saviour  was  then  under- 
going the  process  which  would  burst  the  Jewish  husk  in 
which,  if  I  may  use  such  terms,  his  human  life  had  been 
enveloped.  I  mean  this  :  aforetime  our  Lord  said  that 
he  was  not  sent  save  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel,  and  when  the  Syrophenician  woman  pleaded  for 
her  daughter  he  reminded  her  of  the  restricted  character 
of  his  commission  as  a  prophet  among  men.  When  he 
sent  out  the  seventy,  he  bade  them  not  to  go  into  the 
cities  of  the  Samaritans,  but  to  seek  after  the  house  of 
Israel  only.  Now,  however,  that  blessed  corn  of  wheat 
is  breaking  through  its  outer  integument.  Even  be- 
fore it  is  put  into  the  ground  to  die  the  divine  corn  of 
wheat  begins  to  show  its  living  power,  and  the  true 
Christ  is  being  manifested.  The  Christ  of  God,  though 
assuredly  the  Son  of  David,  was,  on  the  Father's  side, 
neither  Jew  nor  Gentile,  but  simply  man  ;  and  the 
great  sympathies  of  his  heart  were  with  all  mankind. 
He  regarded  all  whom  he  had  chosen  as  his  own  breth- 
ren without  distinction  of  sex,  or  nation,  or  the  period 
of  the  world's  history  in  which  they  should  live  ;  and,  at 
the  sight  of  these  Greeks,  the  true  Christ  came  forth 
and  manifested  himself  to  the  world  as  he  had  not 
done  before.  Hence,  perhaps,  the  peculiar  metaphor 
wkich  we  have  now  to  explain. 

In  our  text,  dear  friends,  we  have  two  things  upon 


THE  CORN  OF  WHEAT  DYING  TO  BRING  FORTH  FRUIT.     59 

which  I  will  speak  briefly,  as  I  am  helped  of  the  Spirit. 
First,  we  have  profound  doctrinal  teaching,  and,  secondly, 
we  have  practical  moral  principle . 

First,  we  have  PROFOUND  DOCTRINAL  TEACHING. 

Our  Saviour  suggested  to  his  thoughtful  disciples  a 
number  of  what  might  be  called  doctrinal  paradoxes. 

First,  that,  glorious  as  he  was,  he  was  yet  to  be  glorified. 
"  The  hour  is  come,  that  the  Son  of  man  should  be  glo- 
rified." Jesus  was  always  glorious.  It  was  a  glorious 
thing  for  the  human  person  of  the  Son  of  man  to  be 
personally  one  with  the  Godhead.  Our  Lord  Jesus  had 
also  great  glory  all  the  while  he  was  on  earth,  in  the 
perfection  of  his  moral  character.  The  gracious  end  for 
which  he  came  here  was  real  glory  to  him  :  his  conde- 
scending to  be  the  Saviour  of  men  was  a  great  glorifica- 
tion of  his  loving  character.  His  way  of  going  about 
his  work — the  way  in  which  he  consecrated  himself  to 
his  Father  and  was  always  about  his  Father's  business, 
the  way  in  which  he  put  aside  Satan  with  his  blandish- 
ments, and  would  not  be  bribed  by  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world — all  this  was  his  glory.  I  should  not  speak 
incorrectly  if  I  were  to  say  that  Christ  was  really  as  to 
his  moral  nature  never  more  glorious  than  when  through- 
out his  life  on  earth  he  was  obscure,  despised,  rejected, 
and  yet  the  faithful  servant  of  God,  and  the  ardent 
lover  of  the  sons  of  men.  The  apostle  says,  "  The 
Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we 
beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of 
the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth,"  in  which  he  refers 
not  only  to  the  transfiguration,  in  which  there  were 
special  glimpses  of  the  divine  glory,  but  to  our  Lord's 
tabernacling  among  men  in  the  common  walks  of  life. 
Saintly,  spiritual  minds  beheld  the  glory  of  his  life,  the 


60  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

glory  of  grace  and  truth  such  as  never  before  had  been 
seen  in  any  of  the  sons  of  men.  But  though  he  was 
thus,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  already  glorious,  Jesus 
had  yet  to  be  glorified.  Something  more  was  to  be 
added  to  his  personal  honor.  Remember,  then,  that 
when  you  have  the  clearest  conceptions  of  your  Lord, 
there  is  still  a  glory  to  be  added  to  all  that  you  can  see 
even  with  the  word  of  God  in  your  hands.  Glorious  as 
the  living  Son  of  man  had  been,  there  was  a  further 
glory  to  come  upon  him  through  his  death,  his  resurrec- 
tion, and  his  entrance  within  the  veil.  He  was  a  glo- 
rious Christ,  and  yet  he  had  to  be  glorified. 

A  second  paradox  is  this — that  his  glory  was  to  come 
to  him  through  shame.  He  says,  "  The  hour  is  come,  that 
the  Son  of  man  should  be  glorified,"  and  then  he  speaks 
of  his  death.  The  greatest  fulness  of  our  Lord's  glory 
arises  out  of  his  emptying  himself,  and  becoming  obedi- 
ent to  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.  It  is  his 
highest  reputation  that  he  made  himself  of  no  reputa- 
tion. His  crown  derives  neiv  lustre  from  his  cross  ; 
his  ever  living  is  rendered  more  honorable  by  the  fact  of 
his  dying  unto  sin  once.  Those  blessed  cheeks  would 
never  have  been  so  fair  as  they  are  in  the  eyes  of  his 
chosen  if  they  had  not  once  been  spat  upon.  Those 
dear  eyes  had  never  had  so  overpowering  a  glance  if 
they  had  not  once  been  dimmed  in  the  agonies  of  death 
for  sinners.  His  hands  are  as  gold  rings  set  with  the 
beryl,  but  their  brightest  adornments  are  the  prints  of 
the  cruel  nails.  As  the  Son  of  God  his  glory  was  all  his 
own  by  nature,  but  as  Son  of  man  his  present  splendor 
is  due  to  the  cross,  and  to  the  ignominy  which  sur- 
rounded it  when  he  bore  our  sins  in  his  own  body. 
We  must  never  forget  this,  and  if  ever  we  are  tempted 


THE  CORN  OF  WHEAT  DYING  TO  BRING  FORTH  FRUIT.     6 1 

to  merge  the  crucified  Saviour  in  the  coming  King  we 
should  feel  rebuked  by  the  fact  that  thus  we  should  rob 
our  Lord  of  his  highest  honor.  Whenever  you  hear 
men  speak  lightly  of  the  atonement  stand  up  for  it  at 
once,  for  out  of  this  comes  the  main  glory  of  your  Lord 
and  Master.  They  say,  "  Let  him  come  down  from  the 
cross,  and  we  will  believe  on  him."  If  he  did  so  what 
would  remain  to  be  believed  ?  It  is  on  the  cross,  it  is 
from  the  cross,  it  is  through  the  cross  that  Jesus  mounts 
to  his  throne,  and  the  Son  of  man  has  a  special  honor  in 
heaven  to-day  because  he  was  slain  and  has  redeemed  us 
to  God  by  his  blood. 

The  next  paradox  is  this — Jesus  must  be  alone  or  abide 
alone.  Notice  the  text  as  I  read  it  :  "  Except  a  corn  of 
wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,"  and  so  gets  alone, 
"  it  abideth  alone."  The  Son  of  man  must  be  alone  in 
the  grave,  or  he  will  be  alone  in  heaven.  He  must  fall 
into  the  ground  like  the  corn  of  wheat,  and  be  there  in 
the  loneliness  of  death,  or  else  he  will  abide  alone. 
This  is  a  paradox  readily  enough  explained  ;  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son  of  man,  unless  he  had  trodden 
the  winepress  alone,  unless  beneath  the  olives  of  Geth- 
semane  he  had  wrestled  on  the  ground,  and  as  it  were 
sunk  into  the  ground  until  he  died,  if  he  had  not  been 
there  alone,  and  if  on  the  cross  he  had  not  cried,  "  My 
God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  so  that  he 
felt  quite  deserted  and  alone,  like  the  buried  corn  of 
wheat — could  not  have  saved  us.  If  he  had  not  actually 
died  he  would  as  man  have  been  alone  forever  :  not 
without  the  eternal  Father  and  the  divine  Spirit,  not 
without  the  company  of  angels;  but  there  had  not  been 
another  man  to  keep  him  company.  Our  Lord  Jesus 
cannot  bear  to  be  alone.  A  head  without  its  members 


62  TALKS  .TO    FARMERS. 

is  a  ghastly  sight,  crown  it  as  you  may.  Know  ye  not 
that  the  church  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him  that  fill- 
eth  all  in  all  ?  Without  his  people  Jesus  would  have 
been  a  shepherd  without  sheep  ;  surely  it  is  not  a 
very  honorable  office  to  be  a  shepherd  without  a  flock. 

He  would  have  been  a  husband  without  his  spouse  ; 
but  he  loves  his  bride  so  well  that  for  this  purpose  did 
he  leave  his  Father  and  become  one  flesh  with  her 
whom  he  had  chosen.  He  clave  to  her,  and  died  for 
her  ;  and  had  he  not  done  so  he  would  have  been  a 
bridegroom  without  a  bride.  This  could  never  be.  His 
heart  is  not  of  the  kind  that  can  enjoy  a  selfish  happi- 
ness which  is  shared  by  none.  If  you  have  read  Solo- 
mon's Song,  where  the  heart  of  the  Bridegroom  is  re- 
vealed, you  will  have  seen  that  he  desires  the  company  of 
his  love,  his  dove,  his  undefiled.  His  delights  were 
with  the  sons  of  men.  Simon  Stylites  on  the  top  of  a 
pillar  is  not  Jesus  Christ  ;  the  hermit  in  his  cave  may 
mean  well,  but  he  finds  no  warrant  for  his  solitude  in 
him  whose  cross  he  professes  to  venerate.  Jesus  was 
the  friend  of  men,  not  avoiding  them,  but  seeking  the 
lost.  It  was  truly  said  of  him,  "  This  man  receiveth 
sinners,  and  eateth  -with  them."  He  draws  all  men 
unto  him,  and  for  this  cause  he  was  lifted  up  from  the 
earth.  Yet  must  this  great  attractive  man  have  been 
alone  in  heaven  if  he  had  not  been  alone  in  Geth- 
semane,  alone  before  Pilate,  alone  when  mocked  by  sol- 
diers, and  alone  upon  the  cross.  If  this  precious  grain 
of  wheat  had  not  descended  into  the  dread  loneliness  of 
death  it  had  remained  alone,  but  since  he  died  he 
"  bringeth  forth  much  fruit." 

This  brings  us  to  the  fourth  paradox — Christ  must  die 
to  give  life.  "  Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the 


THE  CORN  OF  WHEAT  DYING  TO  BRING  FORTH  FRUIT.      63 

ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone  :  but  if  it  die,  it  bring- 
eth  forth  much  fruit":  Jesus  must  die  to  give  life  to 
others.  Persons  who  do  not  think  confound  dying  with 
non-existence,  and  living  with  existence — very,  very 
different  things.  "  The  soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die  :" 
it  shall  never  go  out  of  existence,  but  it  shall  die  by 
being  severed  from  God  who  is  its  life.  There  are  many 
men  who  exist,  and  yet  have  not  true  life,  and  shall 
not  see  life,  but  "  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  them." 
The  grain  of  wheat  when  it  is  put  into  the  ground  dies  ; 
do  we  mean  that  it  ceases  to  be  ?  Not  at  all.  What  is 
death  ?  It  is  the  resolution  of  anything  possessing  life 
into  its  primary  elements.  With  us  it  is  the  body  part- 
ing from  the  soul  ;  with  a  grain  of  wheat  it  is  the. dis- 
solving of  the  elements  which  made  up  the  corn.  Our 
divine  Lord  when  put  into  the  earth  did  not  see  corrup- 
tion, but  his  soul  was  parted  from  his  body  for  a  while, 
and  thus  he  died  ;  and  unless  he  had  literally  and  actually 
died  he  could  not  have  given  life  to  any  of  us. 

Beloved  friends,  this  teaches  us  where  the  vital  point 
of  Christianity  lies,  Chrisfs  death  is  the  life  of  his  teaching. 
See  here  :  if  Christ's  preaching  had  been  the  essential 
point,  or  if  his  example  had  been  the  vital  point,  he 
could  have  brought  forth  fruit  and  multiplied  Christians 
by  his  preaching,  and  by  his  example.  But  he  declares 
that,  except  he  shall  die,  he  shall  not  bring  forth 
fruit.  Am  I  told  that  this  was  because  his  death  would 
be  the  completion  of  his  example,  and  the  seal  of  his 
preaching  ?  I  admit  that  it  was  so,  but  I  can  conceive 
that  if  our  Lord  had  rather  continued  to  live  on — if  he 
had  been  here  constantly  going  up  and  down  the  world 
preaching  and  living  as  he  did,  and  if  he  had  wrought 
miracles  as  he  did,  and  put  forth  that  mysterious, 


64  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

attracting  power,  which  was  always  with  him,  he  might 
have  produced  a  marvellous  number  of  disciples.  If 
his  teaching  and  living  had  been  the  way  in  which 
spiritual  life  could  have  been  bestowed,  without  an 
atonement,  why  did  not  the  Saviour  prolong  his  life  on 
earth  ?  But  the  fact  is  that  no  man  among  us  can  know 
anything  about  spiritual  life  except  through  the  atone- 
ment. There  is  no  way  by  which  we  can  come  to  a 
knowledge  of  God  except  through  the  precious  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ,  by  which  we  have  access  to  the  Father. 
If,  as  some  tell  us,  the  ethical  part  of  Christianity  is 
much  more  to  be  thought  of  than  its  peculiar  doctrines, 
then,  why  did  Jesus  die  at  all  ?  The  ethical  might  have 
been  brought  out  better  by  a  long  life  of  holiness.  He 
might  have  lived  on  till  now  if  he  had  chosen,  and  still 
have  preached,  and  still  have  set  an  example  among  the 
sons  of  men  ;  but  he  assures  us  that  only  by  death  could 
he  have  brought  forth  fruit.  What,  not  with  all  that  holy 
living  ?  No.  What,  not  by  that  matchless  teaching  ? 
No.  Not  one  among  us  could  have  been  saved  from 
eternal  death  except  an  expiation  had  been  wrought  by 
Jesus'  sacrifice.  Not  one  of  us  could  have  been  quick- 
ened into  spiritual  life  except  Christ  himself  had  died 
and  risen  from  the  dead. 

Brethren,  all  the  spiritual  life  that  there  is  in  the 
world  is  the  result  of  Christ's  death.  We  live  under  a 
dispensation  which  shadows  forth  this  truth  to  us.  Life 
first  came  into  the  world  by  a  creation  :  that  was  lost  in 
the  garden.  Since  then,  the  father  of  our  race  is  Noah, 
and  life  by  Noah  came  to  us  by  atypical  death,  burial, 
and  resurrection.  Noah  went  in  unto  the  ark,  and  was 
shut  in,  and  so  buried.  In  that  ark  Noah  went  among 
the  dead,  himself  enveloped  in  the  rain  and  in  the  ark, 


THE  CORN  OF  WHEAT  DYING  TO  BRING  FORTH  FRUIT.     65 

and  he  came  out  into  a  new  world,  rising  again,  as  it 
were,  when  the  waters  were  assuaged.  That  is  the  way 
of  life  to-day.  We  are  dead  with  Christ,  we  are  buried 
with  Christ,  we  are  risen  with  Christ;  and  there  is  no  real 
spiritual  life  in  this  world  except  that  which  has  come 
to  us  by  the  process  of  death,  burial,  and  resurrection 
with  Christ.  Do  you  know  anything  about  this,  dear 
friends  ? — for  if  you  do  not,  you  know  not  the  life  of 
God.  You  know  the  theory,  but  do  you  know  the  ex- 
perimental power  of  this  within  your  own  spirit  ?  When- 
ever we  hear  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement  attacked, 
let  us  stand  up  for  it.  Let  us  tell  the  world  that  while  we 
value  the  life  of  Christ  even  more  than  they  do,  we  know 
that  it  is  not  the  example  of  Christ  that  saves  anybody, 
but  his  death  for  our  sakes.  If  the  blessed  Christ  had  lived 
here  all  these  nineteen  hundred  years,  without  sin,  teach- 
ing all  his  marvellous  precepts  with  his  own  sublime 
and  simple  eloquence,  yet  he  had  not  produced  one 
single  atom  of  spiritual  life  among  all  the  sons  of  men. 
Without  dying  he  brings  forth  no  fruit.  If  you  want 
life,  my  dear  hearer,  you  will  not  get  it  as  an  unregener- 
ate  man  by  attempting  to  imitate  the  example  of  Christ. 
You  may  get  good  of  a  certain  sort  that  way,  but  you 
will  never  obtain  spiritual  life  and  eternal  salvation  by 
that  method.  You  must  believe  on  Jesus  as  dying  for 
you.  You  have  to  understand  that  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  God's  dear  Son,  cleanses  us  from  all  sin.  When 
you  have  learned  that  truth,  you  shall  study  his  life  with 
advantage  ;  but  unless  you  recognize  that  the  grain  of 
wheat  is  cast  into  the  ground,  and  made  to  die,  you  will 
never  realize  any  fruit  from  it  in  your  own  soul,  or  see 
fruit  in  the  souls  of  others. 

One  other  blessed  lesson  of  deep  divinity  is  to  be 


66  TALKS  TO  FARMERS. 

learnt  from  our  text  :  it  is  this — since  Jesus  Christ  did 
really  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  we  may  expect  much  as  the 
result  of  it.  "  If  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit." 
Some  have  a  little  Christ,  and  they  expect  to  see  little 
things  come  of  him.  I  have  met  with  good  people  who 
appear  to  think  that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  the  sound 
people  who  worship  at  Zoar  Chapel,  and,  perhaps,  for  a 
few  more  who  go  to  Ebenezer  in  a  neighboring  town, 
and  they  hope  that  one  day  a  chosen  few — a  scanty 
company  indeed  they  are,  and  they  do  their  best  by 
mutual  quarrelling  to  make  them  fewer — will  glorify 
God  for  the  salvation  of  a  very  small  remnant.  I  will 
not  blame  these  dear  brethren,  but  I  do  wish  that 
their  hearts  were  enlarged.  We  do  not  yet  know  all 
the  fruit  that  is  to  come  out  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  May 
there  not  come  a  day  when  the  millions  of  London  shall 
worship  God  with  one  consent  ?  I  look  for  a  day  when 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  shall  cover  the  earth 
as  the  waters  cover  the  sea,  when  kings  shall  fall  down 
before  the  Son  of  God,  and  all  nations  shall  call  him 
blessed.  "  It  is  too  much  to  expect,"  says  one  ;  "  mis- 
sions make  very  slow  progress."  I  know  all  that,  but 
missions  are  not  the  seed  :  all  that  we  look  for  is  to 
come  out  of  that  corn  of  wheat  which  fell  into  the 
ground  and  died:  this  is  to  bring  forth  much  fruit.  When 
I  think  of  my  Master's  blessed  person  as  perfect  Son  of 
God  and  Son  of  man  ;  when  I  think  of  the  infinite  glory 
which  he  laid  aside,  and  of  the  unutterable  pangs  he 
bore,  I  ask  whether  angels  can  compute  the  value  of 
the  sacrifice  he  offered.  God  only  knows  the  love  of 
God  that  was  manifested  in  the  death  of  his  Son,  and 
do  you  think  that  there  will  be  all  this  planning  and 
working  and  sacrifice  of  infinite  love,  and  then  an  insig- 


THE  CORN  OF  WHEAT  DYING  TO  BRING  FORTH  FRUIT.     67 

nificant  result  ?  It  is  not  like  God  that  it  should  be  so. 
The  travail  of  the  Son  of  God  shall  not  bring  forth  a 
scanty  good.  The  result  shall  be  commensurate  with 
the  means,  and  the  effect  shall  be  parallel  with  the 
cause.  The  Lord  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.  Halle- 
lujah !  Ay.,  as  the  groanings  of  the  cross  must  have 
astounded  angels,  so  shall  the  results  of  the  cross 
amaze  the  seraphim,  and  make  them  admire  the  excess 
of  glory  which  has  arisen  from  the  shameful  death  of 
their  Lord.  O  beloved,  great  things  are  to  come  out  of 
our  Jesus  yet.  Courage,  you  that  are  dispirited.  Be 
brave,  you  soldiers  of  the  cross.  Victory  awaits  your 
banner.  Wait  patiently,  work  hopefully,  suffer  joyfully, 
for  the  kingdom  is  the  Lord's,  and  he  is  the  governor 
among  the  nations. 

Thus  have  I  spoken  upon  profound  divinity 
I  close  with  a  few  words  upon  PRACTICAL  INSTRUC- 
TION. Learn  now  that  what  is  true  of  Christ  is  in 
measure  true  of  every  child  of  God  :  "  Except  a  corn  of 
wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone  : 
but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit."  This  is  so 
far  applicable  to  us,  as  the  next  verse  indicates — "  He 
that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it  ;  and  he  that  hateth  his 
life  in  this  world  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal." 

First,  we  must  die  if  we  are  to  live.  There  is  no  spir- 
itual life  for  you,  for  me,  for  any  man,  except  by  dying 
into  it.  Have  you  a  fine-spun  righteousness  of  your 
own?  It  must  die.  Have  you  any  faith  in  yourself? 
It  must  die.  The  sentence  of  death  must  be  in  your- 
self, and  then  you  shall  enter  into  life.  The  with- 
ering power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  must  be  experienced 
before  his  quickening  influence  can  be  known  :  "  The 
grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth  :  because  the  spirit 


68  TALKS  TO  FARMERS. 

of  the  Lord  bloweth  upon  it."  You  must  be  slain  by 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit  before  you  can  be  made  alive  by 
the  breath  of  the  Spirit. 

Next,  we  must  surrender  everything  to  keep  it.  "  He 
that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it."  Brother,  you  can  never 
have  spiritual  life,  hope,  joy,  peace,  heaven,  except  by 
giving  everything  up  into  God's  hands.  You  shall 
have  everything  in  Christ  when  you  are  willing  to 
have  nothing  of  your  own.  You  must  ground  your 
weapons  of  rebellion,  you  must  drop  the  plumes  of  your 
pride,  you  must  give  up  into  God's  hand  all  that  you 
are  and  all  that  you  have  ;  and  if  you  do  not  thus  lose 
everything  in  will,  you  shall  lose  everything  in  fact  ; 
indeed,  you  have  lost  it  already.  A  full  surrender  of 
everything  to  God  is  the  only  way  to  keep  it.  Some  of 
God's  people  find  this  literally  true.  I  have  known  a 
mother  keep  back  her  child  from  God,  and  the  child  has 
died.  Wealthy  people  have  worshipped  their  wealth, 
and  as  they  were  God's  people,  he  has  broken  their 
idols  into  shivers.  You  must  lose  your  all  if  you  would 
keep  it,  and  renounce  your  most  precious  thing  if  you 
would  have  it  preserved  to  you. 

Next,  we  must  lose  self  in  order  to  find  self.  ' '  He  that 
hateth  his  life  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal. ' '  You  must 
entirely  give  up  living  for  yourself,  and  then  you  your- 
self shall  live.  The  man  who  lives  for  himself  does  not 
live;  he  loses  the  essence,  the  pleasure,  the  crown  of  ex- 
istence ;  but  if  you  live  for  others  and  for  God  you  will 
find  the  life  of  life.  "  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  his  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you."  There  is  no  way  of  finding  yourself  in  per- 
sonal joy  like  losing  yourself  in  the  joy  of  others. 

Once  more  :  if  you  wish  to  be  the  means  of  life  to  others. 


THE  CORN  OF  WHEAT  DYING  TO  BRING  FORTH  FRUIT.     69 

you  must  in  your  measure  die  yourself.  "  Oh,"  say  you, 
"  will  it  actually  come  to  death  ?"  Well,  it  may  not, 
but  you  should  be  prepared  for  it  if  it  should  Who 
have  most  largely  blessed  the  present  age  ?  I  will  tell 
you.  I  believe  we  owe  our  gospel  liberties  mainly  to 
the  poor  men  and  women  who  died  at  the  stake  for  the 
faith.  Call  them  Lollards,  Anabaptists,  or  what  you 
will,  the  men  who  died  for  it  gave  life  to  the  holy 
cause.  Some  of  all  ranks  did  this,  from  bishops  down- 
ward to  poor  boys.  Many  of  them  could  not  preach 
from  the  pulpit,  but  they  preached  grander  sermons 
from  the  fagots  than  all  the  reformers  could  thunder 
from  their  rostrums.  They  fell  into  the  ground  and 
died,  and  the  "  much  fruit  "  abides  to  this  day.  The 
self-sacrificing  death  of  her  saints  was  the  life  and  in- 
crease of  the  church.  If  we  wish  to  achieve  a  great  pur- 
pose, establish  a  great  truth,  and  raise  up  a  great  agency 
for  good,  it  must  be  by  the  surrender  of  o  irselves,  yea, 
of  our  very  lives  to  the  one  all-absorbing  purpose.  Not 
else  can  we  succeed.  There  is  no  giving  out  to  others, 
without  taking  so  much  out  of  yourself.  He  who  serves 
God  and  finds  that  it  is  easy  work  will  find  it  hard  work 
to  give  in  his  account  at  the  last.  A  sermon  that  costs 
nothing  is  worth  nothing  ;  if  it  did  not  come  from  the 
heart  it  will  not  go  to  the  heart.  Take  it  as  a  rule  that 
wear  and  tear  must  go  on,  even  to  exhaustion,  if  we  are 
to  be  largely  useful.  Death  precedes  growth.  The  Sa- 
viour of  others  cannot  save  himself.  We  must  not,  there- 
fore, grudge  the  lives  of  those  who  die  under  the  evil 
climate  of  Africa,  if  they  die  for  Christ  ;  nor  must  we 
murmur  if  here  and  there  God's  best  servants  are  cut 
down  by  brain  exhaustion  :  it  is  the  law  of  divine 
husbandry  that  by  death  cometh  increase. 


70  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

And  you,  dear  friend,  must  not  say,  "  Oh,  I  cannot 
longer  teach  in  the  Sunday-school  :  I  work  so  hard  all 
the  week  that  I — I — I  " — shall  I  finish  the  sentence 
for  you  ?  You  work  so  hard  for  yourself  all  the  week 
that  you  cannot  work  for  God  one  day  in  the  week.  Is 
that  it  ?  "  No,  not  quite  so,  but  I  am  so  fagged."  Very 
true,  but  think  of  your  Lord.  He  knew  what  weariness 
was  for  you,  and  yet  he  wearied  not  in  well-doing.  You 
will  never  come  to  sweat  of  blood  as  he  did.  Come,  dear 
friend,  will  you  be  a  corn  of  wheat  laid  up  on  the  shelf 
alone  ?  Will  you  be  like  that  wheat  in  the  mummy's 
hand,  unfruitful  and  forgottten,  or  would  you  grow  ? 
I  hear  you  say,  "  Sow  me  somewhere."  I  will  try  to 
do  so.  Let  me  drop  you  into  the  Sunday-school  field, 
or  into  the  Tract-lending  acre,  or  into  the  Street-preach- 
ing parcel  of  land.  "  But  if  I  make  any  great  exertion 
it  will  half  kill  me."  Yes  ;  and  if  it  shall  quite  kill, 
you  will  then  prove  the  text,  "If  it  die,  it  bringeth 
forth  much  fruit."  Those  who  have  killed  themselves 
of  late  in  our  Lord's  service  are  not  so  numerous  that 
we  need  be  distressed  by  the  fear  that  an  enormous 
sacrifice  of  life  is  likely  to  occur.  Little  cause  is  there 
just  now  to  repress  fanaticism,  but  far  more  reason  to 
denounce  self-seeking.  O,  my  brethren,  let  us  rise  to 
a  condition  of  consecration  more  worthy  of  our  Lord 
and  of  his  glorious  cause,  and  henceforth  may  we  be 
eager  to  be  as  the  buried,  hidden,  dying,  yet  fruit-bear- 
ing wheat  for  the  glory  of  our  Lord.  Thus  have  I  merely 
glanced  at  the  text  ;  another  day  may  it  be  our  privi- 
lege to  dive  into  its  depths. 


THE  PLOUGHMAN. 

11  Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day  to  sow  ?" — ISAIAH  28 :  24. 

UNLESS  they  are  cultivated,  fields  yield  us  nothing 
but  briers  and  thistles.  In  this  we  may  see  ourselves. 
Unless  the  great  Husbandman  shall  till  us  by  his  grace, 
we  shall  produce  nothing  that  is  good,  but  everything 
that  is  evil.  If  one  of  these  days  I  shall  hear  that  a 
country  has  been  discovered  where  wheat  grows  with- 
out the  work  of  the  farmer,  I  may  then,  perhaps,  hope 
to  find  one  of  our  race  who  will  bring  forth  holiness 
without  the  grace  of  God.  Hitherto  all  land  on  which 
the  foot  of  man  has  trodden  has  needed  labor  and  care  ; 
and  even  so  among  men  the  need  of  gracious  tillage  is 
universal.  Jesus  says  to  all  of  us,  "  Ye  must  be  born 
again."  Unless  God  the  Holy  Spirit  breaks  'up  the 
heart  with  the  plough  of  the  law,  and  sows  it  with  the 
seed  of  the  gospel,  not  a  single  ear  of  holiness  will  any 
of  us  produce,  even  though  we  may  be  children  of  godly 
parents,,  and  may  be  regarded  as  excellent  moral  people 
by  those  with  whom  we  live. 

Yes,  and  the  plough  is  needed  not  only  to  produce 
that  which  is  good,  but  to  destroy  that  which  is  evil. 
There  are  diseases  which,  in  the  course  of  ages,  wear 
themselves  out,  and  do  not  appear  again  among  men  ; 
and  there  may  be  forms  of  vice,  which  under  changed 
circumstances,  do  not  so  much  abound  as  they  used  to 


7*  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

do  ;  but  human  nature  will  always  remain  the  same, 
and  therefore  there  will  always  be  plentiful  crops  of  the 
weeds  of  sin  in  man's  fields,  and  nothing  can  keep  these 
under  but  spiritual  husbandry,  carried  on  by  the  Spirit 
of  God.  You  cannot  destroy  weeds  by  exhortations, 
nor  can  you  tear  out  the  roots  of  sin  from  the  soul  by 
moral  suasion  ;  something  sharper  and  more  effectual 
must  be  brought  to  bear  upon  them.  God  must  put  his 
own  right  hand  to  the  plough,  or  the  hemlock  of  sin  will 
never  give  place  to  the  corn  of  holiness.  Good  is  never 
spontaneous  in  unrenewed  humanity,  and  evil  is  never 
cut  up  till  the  ploughshare  of  almighty  grace  is  driven 
through  it. 

The  text  leads  our  thoughts  in  this  direction,  and 
gives  us  practical  guidance  through  asking  the  simple 
question,  "  Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day  to  sow  ?" 
This  question  may  be  answered  in  the  affirmative,  ' '  Yes,  in 
the  proper  season  he  does  plough  all  day  to  sow  ;"  and, 
secondly,  this  text  may  more  properly  be  answered  in  the  neg- 
ative, "  No,  the  ploughman  does  not  plough  every  day  to 
sow  ;  he  has  other  work  to  do  according  to  the  season." 

I.  First,  our  text  may  be  ANSWERED  IN  THE  AFFIRM- 
ATIVE— "  Yes,  the  ploughman  does  plough  all  day  to 
sow." 

When  it  is  ploughing  time  he  keeps  on  at  it  till  his 
work  is  done  ;  if  it  requires  one  day,  or  two  days,  or 
twenty  days  to  finish  his  fields,  he  continues  at  his  task 
while  the  weather  permits.  The  perseverance  of  the 
ploughman  is  instructive,  and  it  teaches  us  a  double  les- 
son. When  the  Lord  comes  to  plough  the  heart  of 
man  he  ploughs  all  day,  and  herein  is  his  patience  ;  and, 
secondly,  so  ought  the  Lord's  servants  to  labor  all  day 
with  men's  hearts,  and  herein  is  our  perseverance. 


THE    PLOUGHMAN.  73 

"  Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day?"  So  doth 
God  plough  the  heart  of  man,  and  herein  is  his  patience.  The 
team  was  in  the  field  in  the  case  of  some  of  us  very  early 
in  the  morning,  for  our  first  recollections  have  to  do 
with  conscience  and  the  furrows  of  pain  which  it  made 
in  our  youthful  mind.  When  we  were  little  children 
we  woke  in  the  night  under  a  sense  of  sin  ;  our  father's 
teaching  and  our  mother's  prayers  made  deep  and  pain- 
ful impressions  upon  us,  and  though  we  did  not  then 
yield  our  hearts  to  God,  we  were  greatly  stirred,  and  all 
indifference  to  religion  was  made  impossible.  When  we 
were  boys  at  school  the  reading  of  a  chapter  in  the  Word 
of  God,  or  the  death  of  a  playmate,  or  an  address  at  a 
Bible-class,  or  a  solemn  sermon,  so  affected  us  that  we 
were  uneasy  for  weeks.  The  strivings  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  within  urged  us  to  think  of  higher  and  better  things. 
Though  we  quenched  the  Spirit,  though  we  stifled  con- 
viction, yet  we  bore  the  marks  of  the  ploughshare;  fur- 
rows were  made  in  the  soul,  and  certain  foul  weeds  of 
evil  were  cut  up  by  the  roots  although  no  seed  of  grace 
was  as  yet  sown  in  our  hearts.  Some  have  continued 
in  this  -state  for  many  years,  ploughed  but  not  sown  ; 
but,  blessed  be  God,  it  was  not  so  with  others  of  us  ; 
for  we  had  not  left  boyhood  before  the  good  seed  of  the 
gospel  fell  upon  our  heart.  Alas  !  there  are  many  who 
do  not  thus  yield  to  grace,  and  with  them  the  ploughman 
ploughs  all  day  to  sow.  I  have  seen  the  young  man  com- 
ing to  London  in  his  youth,  yielding  to  its  temptations, 
drinking  in  its  poisoned  sweets,  violating  his  con- 
science, and  yet  continuing  unhappy  in  it  all,  fearful,  un- 
restful,  stirred  about  even  as  the  soil  is  agitated  by  the 
plough.  In  how  many  cases  has  this  kind  of  work  gone 
on  for  years,  and  all  to  no  avail.  Ah  !  and  I  have  known 


74  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

the  man  come  to  middle  life,  and  still  he  has  not  re- 
ceived the  good  seed,  neither  has  the  ground  of  his  hard 
heart  been  thoroughly  broken  up.  He  has  gone  on  in 
business  without  God  ;  day  after  day  he  has  risen  and 
gone  to  bed  again  with  no  more  religion  than  his  horses: 
and  yet  all  this  while  there  have  been  ringing  in  his  ears 
warnings  of  judgment  to  come,  and  chidings  of  con- 
science, so  that  he  has  not  been  at  peace.  After  a  power- 
ful sermon  he  has  not  enjoyed  his  meals,  or  been  able  to 
sleep,  for  he  has  asked  himself,  "  What  shall  I  do  in  the 
end  thereof?"  The  ploughman  has  ploughed  all  day, 
till  the  evening  shadows  have  lengthened  and  the  day 
has  faded  to  a  close.  What  a  mercy  it  is  when  the 
furrows  are  at  last  made  ready  and  the  good  seed  is  cast 
in,  to  be  received,  nurtured,  and  multiplied  a  hundred 
fold. 

It  is  mournful  to  remember  that  we  have  seen 
this  ploughing  continue  till  the  sun  has  touched  the  ho- 
rizon and  the  night  dews  have  begun  to  fall.  Even  then 
the  long-suffering  God  has  followed  up  his  work — 
ploughing,  ploughing,  ploughing,  ploughing,  till  dark- 
ness ended  all.  Do  I  address  any  aged  ones  whose  lease 
must  soon  run  out  ?  I  would  affectionately  beseech  them 
to  consider  their  position.  What!  Threescore  years  old 
and  yet  unsaved  ?  Forty  years  did  God  suffer  the  man- 
ners of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  but  he  has  borne  with 
you  for  sixty  years.  Seventy  years  old,  and  yet  un regen- 
erated !  Ah,  my  friend,  you  will  have  but  little  time 
in  which  to  serve  your  Saviour  before  you  go  to  heaven. 
But  will  you  go  there  at  all  ?  Is  it  not  growing  dread- 
fully likely  that  you  will  die  in  your  sins  and  perish 
for  ever  ?  How  happy  are  those  who  are  brought  to 
Christ  in  early  life  ;  but  still  remember — 


THE   PLOUGHMAN.  75 

"While  the  lamp  holds  out  to  burn, 
The  vilest  sinner  may  return.  " 

It  is  late,  it  is  very  late,  but  is  not  too  late.  The  plough- 
man ploughs  all  day  ;  and  the  Lord  waits  that  he  may 
be  gracious  unto  you.  I  have  seen  many  aged  persons 
converted,  and  therefore  I  would  encourage  other  old 
folks  to  believe  in  Jesus.  I  once  read  a  sermon  in  which 
a  minister  asserted  that  he  had  seldom  known  any  con- 
verted who  were  over  forty  years  of  age  if  they  had  been 
hearers  of  the  gospel  all  their  lives.  There  is  certainly 
much  need  to  caution  those  who  are  guilty  of  delay,  but 
there  must  be  no  manufacturing  of  facts.  Whatever 
that  minister  might  think,  or  even  observe,  my  own 
observation  leads  me  to  believe  that  about  as  many 
people  are  converted  to  God  at  one  age  as  at  another, 
taking  into  consideration  the  fact  that  the  young  are 
much  more  numerous  than  the  old.  It  is  a  dreadful 
thing  to  have  remained  an  unbeliever  all  these  years  ;  but 
yet  the  grace  of  God  does  not  stop  short  at  a  certain 
age  ;  those  who  enter  the  vineyard  at  the  eleventh  hour 
shall  have  their  penny,  and  grace  shall  be  glorified  in 
the  old  as  well  as  in  the  young.  Come  along,  old  friend, 
Jesus  Christ  invites  you  to  come  to  him  even  now,  though 
you  have  stood  out  so  long.  You  have  been  a  sadly 
tough  piece  of  ground,  and  the  ploughman  has  ploughed 
all  day  ;  but  if  at  last  the  sods  are  turned,  and  the  heart 
is  lying  in  ridges,  there  is  hope  of  you  yet. 

"  Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day  ?"  I  answer 
—Yes,  however  long  the  day  may  be,  God  in  mercy 
ploughs  still,  he  is  long-suffering,  and  full  of  tenderness 
and  mere)-  and  grace.  Do  not  spurn  such  patience,  but 
yield  to  the  Lord  who  has  acted  toward  you  with  so 
much  gentle  love. 


76  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

The  text,  however,  not  only  sets  forth  patience  on 
God's  part,  but  it  teaches  perseverance  on  our  part.  "  Doth 
the  ploughman  plough  all  day  ?"  Yes,  he  does  ;  then  if 
I  am  seeking  Christ,  ought  I  to  be  discouraged  because 
I  do  not  immediately  find  him  ?  The  promise  is,  "  He 
that  asketh,  receiveth  ;  and  he  that  seeketh  findeth  ; 
and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be  opened."  There 
may  be  reasons  why  the  door  is  not  opened  at  our  first 
knock.  What  then  ?  "  Doth  the  ploughman  plough 
all  day  ?"  Then  will  I  knock  all  day.  It  may  be  at  the 
first  seeking  I  may  not  find  ;  what  then  ?  "  Doth  the 
ploughman  plough  all  day  ?"  Then  will  I  seek  all  day. 
It  may  happen  that  at  my  first  asking  I  shall  not  receive  ; 
what  then  ?  "  Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day  ?" 
Then  will  I  ask  all  day  ?  Friends,  if  you  have  begun 
to  seek  the  Lord,  the  short  way  is,  "  Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved. ' '  Do  that  at  once. 
In  the  name  of  God  do  it  at  once,  and  you  are  saved  at 
once.  May  the  Spirit  of  God  bring  you  to  faith  in  Jesus, 
and  you  are  at  once  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  But  if 
peradventure  in  seeking  the  Lord,  you  are  ignorant  of 
this,  or  do  not  see  your  way,  never  give  up  seeking  ; 
get  to  the  foot  of  the  cross,  lay  hold  of  it,  and  cry,  "  If  I 
perish  I  will  perish  here.  Lord,  I  come  to  thee  in  Jesus 
Christ  for  mercy,  and  if  thou  art  not  pleased  to  look 
at  me  immediately,  and  forgive  my  sins,  I  will  cry  to 
thee  till  thou  dost."  When  God's  Holy  Spirit  brings  a 
man  to  downright  earnest  prayer  which  will  not  take  a 
denial,  he  is  not  far  from  peace.  Careless  indifference 
and  shilly-shallying  with  God  hold  men  in  bondage. 
They  find  peace  when  their  hearts  are  roused  to  strong 
resolve  to  seek  until  they  find.  I  like  to  see  men  search 
the  Scriptures  till  they  learn  the  way  of  salvation,  and 


THE    PLOUGHMAN.  77 

hear  the  gospel  till  their  souls  live  by  it.  If  they  are 
resolved  to  drive  the  plough  through  doubts,  and  fears, 
and  difficulties,  till  they  come  to  salvation,  they  shall 
soon  come  to  it  by  the  grace  of  God. 

The  same  is  true  in  seeking  the  salvation  of  others. 
"  Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day  ?"  Yes,  when  it 
is  ploughing-time.  Then,  so  will  I  work  on,  and  on, 
and  on.  I  will  pray  and  preach,  or  pray  and  teach, 
however  long  the  day  may  be  that  God  shall  appoint 
me,  for — 

"  'Tis  all  my  business  here  below 
The  precious  gospel  seed  to  sow.  " 

Brother  worker,  are  you  getting  a  little  weary  ? 
Never  mind,  rouse  yourself,  and  plough  on  for  the  love 
of  Jesus,  and  dying  men.  Our  day  of  work  has  in  it 
only  the  appointed  hours,  and  while  they  last  let  us  fulfil 
our  task.  Ploughing  is  hard  work  ;  but  as  there  will  be 
no  harvest  without  it,  let  us  just  put  forth  all  our  strength, 
and  never  flag  till  we  have  performed  our  Lord's  will, 
and  by  his  holy  Spirit  wrought  conviction  in  men's  souls. 
Some  soils  are  very  stiff,  and  cling  together,  and  the 
labor  is  heart-breaking  ;  others  are  like  the  unreclaimed 
waste,  full  of  roots  and  tangled  bramble  ;  they  need  a 
steam  plough,  and  we  must  pray  the  Lord  to  make  us 
such,  for  we  cannot  leave  them  untilled,  and  therefore  we 
must  put  forth  more  strength  that  the  labor  may  be  done. 

I  heard  some  time  ago  of  a  minister  who  called  to 
see  a  poor  man  who  was  dying,  but  he  was  not  able  to 
gain  admittance  ;  he  called  the  next  morning,  and 
some  idle  excuse  was  made  so  that  he  could  not  see 
him  ;  he  called  again  the  next  morning,  but  he  was 
still  refused  ;  he  went  on  till  he  called  twenty  times  in 
vain,  but  on  the  twenty-first  occasion  he  was  permitted 


78  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

to  see  the  sufferer,  and  by  God's  grace  he  saved  a  soul 
from  death.  "  Why  do  you  tell  your  child  a  thing  twenty 
times?"  asked  some  one  of  a  mother.  "Because," 
said  she,  "  I  find  nineteen  times  is  not  enough."  Now, 
when  a  soul  is  to  be  ploughed,  it  may  so  happen  that 
hundreds  of  furrows  will  not  do  it.  What  then  ?  Why, 
plough  all  day  till  the  work  is  done.  Whether  you 
are  ministers,  missionaries,  teachers,  or  private  soul- 
winners,  never  grow  weary,  for  your  work  is  noble, 
and  the  reward  of  it  is  infinite.  The  grace  of  God  is 
seen  in  our  being  permitted  to  engage  in  such  holy 
service  ;  it  is  greatly  magnified  in  sustaining  us  in  it, 
and  it  will  be  pre-eminently  conspicuous  in  enabling 
us  to  hold  out  till  we  can  say,  "  I  have  finished  the  work 
which  thou  gavest  me  to  do." 

We  prize  that  which  costs  us  labor  and  service,  and 
we  shall  set  all  the  higher  value  upon  the  saved  ones 
when  the  Lord  grants  them  to  our  efforts.  Tt  is  good 
for  us  to  learn  the  value  of  our  sheaves  by  going  forth 
weeping  to  the  sowing.  When  you  think  of  the  plough- 
man's ploughing  all  day,  be  moved  to  plod  on  in  earn- 
est efforts  to  win  souls.  Seek — 

"  With  cries,  entreaties,  tears  to  save 
And  snatch  them  from  the  fiery  wave.  " 

Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day  for  a  little  bit  of 
oats  or  barley,  and  will  not  you  plough  all  day  for  souls 
that  shall  live  for  ever,  if  saved,  to  adore  the  grace  of 
God,  or  shall  live  for  ever,  if  unsaved,  in  outer  darkness 
and  woe  ?  Oh,  by  the  terrors  of  the  wrath  to  come  and 
the  glory  that  is  to  be  revealed,  gird  up  your  loins, 
and  plough  all  day. 

I  would  beg  all  the  members  of  our  churches  to 


THE   PLOUGHMAN.  79 

keep  their  hands  on  the  gospel  plough,  and  their  eyes 
straight  before  them.  "  Doth  the  ploughman  plough 
all  day  ?"  let  Christians  do  the  same.  Start  close  to 
the  hedge,  and  go  right  down  to  the  -bottom  of  the 
field.  Plough  as  close  to  the  ditch  as  you  can,  and 
leave  small  headlands.  What  though  there  are  fallen 
women,  thieves,  and  drunkards  in  the  slums  around, 
do  not  neglect  any  of  them  ;  for  if  you  leave  a  stretch 
of  land  to  the  weeds  they  will  soon  spread  among 
the  wheat.  When  you  have  gone  right  to  the  end  of 
the  field  once,  what  shall  you  do  next  ?  Why,  just 
turn  round,  and  make  for  the  place  you  started 
from.  And  when  you  have  thus  been  up  and  down, 
what  next  ?  Why,  up  and  down  again.  And  what 
next  ?  Why,  up  and  down  again.  You  have  visited 
that  district  with  tracts  ;  do  it  again,  fifty-two 
times  in  the  year — multiply  your  furrows.  We  must 
learn  how  to  continue  in  well  doing.  Your  eternal 
destiny  is  to  go  on  doing  good  for  ever  and  ever,  and  it 
is  well  to  go  through  a  rehearsal  here.  So  just  plough 
on,  plough  on,  and  look  for  results  as  the  reward  of 
continued  perseverance.  Ploughing  is  not  done  with 
a  skip  and  jump  ;  the  ploughman  ploughs  all  day. 
Dash  and  flash  are  all  very  fine  in  some  things,  but  not 
in  ploughing  ;  there  the  work  must  be  steady,  persistent, 
regular.  Certain  persons  soon  give  it  up,  it  wears  out 
their  gloves,  blisters  their  soft  hands,  tires  their  bones, 
and  makes  them  eat  their  bread  rather  more  in  the 
sweat  of  their  face  than  they  care  for.  Those  whom 
the  Lord  fills  with  his  grace  will  keep  to  their  ploughing 
year  after  year,  and  verily  I  say  unto  you,  they  shall 
have  their  reward.  "  Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all 
day?"  Then  let  us  do  the  same,  being  assured  that 


8o  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

one  day  every  hill  and  valley  shall  be  tilled  and  sown, 
and  every  desert  and  wilderness  shall  yield  a  harvest 
for  our  Lord,  and  the  angel  reapers  shall  descend,  and 
the  shouts  of  the  harvest-home  shall  fill  both  earth  and 
heaven. 

II.  But,  now,  somewhat  briefly,  THE  TEXT  MAY  BE 
ANSWERED  IN  THE  NEGATIVE.  "  Doth  the  ploughman 
plough  all  day  to  sow?"  No,  he  does  not  always 
plough.  After  he  has  ploughed  he  breaks  the  clods, 
sows,  reaps,  and  threshes.  In  the  chapter  before  us  you 
will  see  that  other  works  of  husbandry  are  mentioned. 
The  ploughman  has  many  other  things  to  do  beside 
ploughing.  There  is  an  advance  in  what  he  does  ;  this 
teaches  us  that  there  is  the  like  on  God's  part,  and 
should  be  the  like  on  ours. 

First,  on  God's  part,  there  is  an  advance  in  what  he  does. 
"  Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day  ?"  No,  he  goes  for- 
ward to  other  matters.  It  may  be  that  in  the  case  of  some 
of  you  the  Lord  has  been  using  certain  painful  agencies 
to  plough  you.  You  are  feeling  the  terrors  of  the  law, 
the  bitterness  of  sin,  the  holiness  of  God,  the  weakness 
of  the  flesh,  and  the  shadow  of  the  wrath  to  come.  Is 
this  going  to  last  forever  ?  Will  it  continue  till  the 
spirit  fails  and  the  soul  expires?  Listen  :  "  Doth  the 
ploughman  plough  all  day  ?  "  No,  he  is  preparing  for 
something  else — he  ploughs  to  sow.  Thus  doth  the 
Lord  deal  with  you  ;  therefore  be  of  good  courage,  there 
is  an  ending  to  the  wounding  and  slaying,  and  bet- 
ter things  are  in  store  for  you.  You  are  poor  and  needy, 
and  you  seek  water,  and  there  is  none  and  your  tongue 
faileth  for  thirst  ;  but  the  Lord  will  hear  you,  and  de- 
liver you.  He  will  not  contend  forever,  neither  will  he 
be  always  wroth.  He  will  turn  again,  and  he  will  have 


THE   PLOUGHMAN.  8 1 

compassion  upon  us.  He  will  not  always  make  furrows 
by  his  chiding,  he  will  come  and  cast  in  the  precious 
corn  of  consolation,  and  water  it  with  the  dews  of  heaven 
and  smile  upon  it  with  the  sunlight  of  his  grace  ;  'and 
there  shall  soon  be  in  you,  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear, 
after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear,  and  in  due  season  you 
shall  joy  as  with  the  joy  of  harvest.  O  ye  who  are  sore 
wounded  in  the  place  of  dragons,  I  hear  you  cry, 
Doth  God  always  send  terror  and  conviction  of  sin  ? 
Listen  to  this  :  "  If  ye  be  willing  and  obedient,  ye  shall 
eat  the  good  of  the  land,"  and  what  is  the  call  of  God  to 
the  willing  and  obedient  but  this  :  "  Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved  "  ?  Thou  shalt  be 
saved  now,  find  peace  now,  if  thou  wilt  have  done  with 
thyself  and  all  looking  to  thine  own  good  works  to  save 
thee,  and  wilt  turn  to  him  who  paid  the  ransom  for 
thee  upon  the  tree.  The  Lord  is  gentle  and  tender  and 
full  of  compassion,  he  will  not  always  chide,  neither 
will  he  keep  his  anger  for  ever.  Many  of  your  doubts 
and  fears  come  of  unbelief,  or  of  Satan,  or  of  the  flesh, 
and  are  not  of  God  at  all.  Blame  him  not  for  what  he 
does  not  send,  and  does  not  wish  you  to  suffer.  His 
mind  is  for  your  peace,  not  for  your  distress  ;  for  thus 
he  speaks  :  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye,  my  people,  saith 
your  God.  Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem,  and 
cry  unto  her,  that  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that  her 
iniquity  is  pardoned."  "  I  have  blotted  out,  as  a  thick 
cloud,  thy  transgressions,  and,  as  a  cloud,  thy  sins  : 
return  unto  me  ;  for  I  have  redeemed  thee."  He  has 
smitten,  but  he  will  smile  ;  he  has  wounded,  but  he  will 
heal  ;  he  has  slain,  but  he  will  make  alive  ;  therefore 
turn  unto  him  at  once  and  receive  comfort  at  his  hands. 
The  ploughman  does  not  plough  for  ever,  else  would  he 


82  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

reap  no  harvest  ;  and  God  is'not  always  heart-breaking, 
he  also  draws  near  on  heart-healing  errands. 

You  see,  then,  that  the  great  husbandman  advances 
from  painful  agencies,  and  I  want  you  to  mark  that  he 
goes  on  to  productive  work  in  the  hearts  of  his  people. 
He  will  take  away  the  furrows,  you  shall  not  see  them, 
for  the  corn  will  cover  them  with  beauty.  As  she  that 
was  in  travail  remembers  no  more  her  sorrow  for  joy  that 
a  man  is  born  into  the  world,  so  shall  you,  who  are 
under  the  legal  rod,  remember  no  more  the  misery  of 
conviction,  for  God  will  sow  you  with  grace,  and  make 
your  soul,  even  your  poor,  barren  soul,  to  bring  forth 
fruit  unto  his  praise  and  glory.  "  Oh  !"  says  one,  "  I 
wish  that  would  come  true  to  me."  It  will.  "  Doth 
the  ploughman  plough  all  day  to  sow?"  You  expect 
by-and-by  to  see  ploughed  fields  clothed  with  springing 
corn  ;  and  you  may  look  to  see  repentant  hearts  glad- 
dened with  forgiveness.  Therefore,  be  of  good  courage. 

You  shall  advance,  also,  to  a  joyful  experience.  See 
that  ploughman  ;  he  whistles  as  he  ploughs,  he  does  not 
own  much  of  this  world's  goods,  but  yet  he  is  merry. 
He  looks  forward  to  the  day  when  he  will  be  on  the 
top  of  the  big  wagon,  joining  in  the  shout  of  the  har- 
vest home,  and  so  he  ploughs  in  hope,  expecting  a  crop. 
And,  dear  soul,  God  will  yet  joy  and  rejoice  over  you 
when  you  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  you,  too,  shall 
be  brimful  of  joy.  Be  of  good  cheer,  the  better  portion 
is  yet  to  come,  press  forward  to  it.  Gospel  sorrowing 
leads  on  to  gospel  hoping,  believing,  rejoicing,  and  the 
rejoicing  knows  no  end.  God  will  not  chasten  all  day, 
but  he  will  lead  you  on  from  strength  to  strength,  from 
glory  unto  glory,  till  you  shall  be  like  himself.  This, 
then,  is  the  advance  that  there  is  in  God's  work  among 


THE   PLOUGHMAN.  83 

men,  from  painful  agencies  to  productive  work  and 
joyful  experience. 

But  what  if  the  ploughing  should  never  lead  to  sow- 
ing ;  what  if  you  should  be  disturbed  in  conscience, 
and  should  go  on  to  resist  it  all  ?  Then  God  will  make 
another  advance,  but  it  will  be  to  put  up  the  plough, 
and  to  command  the  clouds  that  they  rain  no  rain  upon 
the  land,  and  then  its  end  is  to  be  burned.  Oh  !  man, 
there  is  nothing  more  awful  than  for  your  soul  to  be  left 
to  go  out  of  cultivation  ;  God  himself  giving  you  up. 
Surely  that  is  hell.  He  that  is  unholy  will  be  unholy 
still.  The  law  of  fixity  of  character  will  operate  eter- 
nally, and  no  hand  of  the  merciful  One  shall  come 
near  to  till  the  soul  again.  What  worse  than  this  can 
happen  ? 

We  conclude  by  saying  that  this  advance  is  a  lesson  to 
us;  for  we,  too,  are  to  go  forward.  "  Doth  the  ploughman 
plough  all  day  ?' '  No,  he  ploughs  to  sow,  and  in  due  time 
he  sows.  Some  churches  seem  to  think  that  all  they 
have  to  do  is  to  plough;  at  least,  all  they  attempt  is  a  kind 
of  scratching  of  the  soil,  and  talking  of  what  they  are 
going  to  do.  It  is  fine  talk,  certainly  ;  but  doth  the 
ploughman  plough  all  day  ?  You  may  draw  up  a  large 
programme  and  promise  great  things  ;  but  pray  do  not 
stop  there.  Don't  be  making  furrows  all  day  ;  do  get 
to  your  sowing.  I  fancy  that  those  who  promise  most 
perform  the  least.  Men  who  do  much  in  the  world  have 
no  programme  at  first,  their  course  works  itself  out  by 
its  own  inner  force  by  the  grace  of  God  ;  they  do  not 
propose  but  perform.  They  do  not  plough  all  day  to 
sow,  but  they  are  like  our  Lord's  servant  in  the  parable 
of  whom  he  saith,  "  the  sower  went  forth  to  sow." 

Let  the  ministers  of  Christ  also  follow  the  rule  of 


84  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

advance.  Let  us  go  from  preaching  the  law  to  preaching 
the  gospel.  ' '  Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day  ?' '  He 
does  plough  ;  he  would  not  sow  in  hope  if  he  had  not 
first  prepared  the  ground.  Robbie  Flockart,  who 
preached  for  years  in  the  Edinboro'  streets,  says,  "  It  is 
in  vain  to  sew  with  the  silk  thread  of  the  gospel,  unless 
you  use  the  sharp  needle  of  the  law."  Some  of  my 
brethren  do  not  care  to  preach  eternal  wrath  and  its  ter- 
rors. This  is  a  cruel  mercy,  for  they  ruin  souls  by  hid- 
ing from  them  their  ruin.  If  they  must  needs  try  to 
sew  without  a  needle,  I  cannot  help  it  ;  but  I  do  not 
mean  to  be  so  foolish  myself  ;  my  needle  may  be  old- 
fashioned,  but  it  is  sharp,  and  when  it  carries  with  it  the 
silken  thread  of  the  gospel,  I  am  sure  good  work  is  done 
by  it.  You  cannot  get  a  harvest  if  you  are  afraid  of  dis- 
turbing the  soil,  nor  can  you  save  souls  if  you  never 
warn  them  of  hell  fire.  We  must  tell  the  sinner  what 
God  has  revealed  about  sin,  righteousness,  and  judgment 
to  come.  Still,  brethren,  we  must  not  plough  all  day. 
No,  no,  the  preaching  of  the  law  is  only  preparatory 
to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  The  stress  of  our  busi- 
ness lies  in  proclaiming  glad  tidings.  We  are  not  fol- 
lowers of  John  the  Baptist,  but  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  we  are 
not  rugged  prophets  of  woe,  but  joyful  heralds  of  grace. 
Be  not  satisfied  with  revival  services,  and  stirring  ap- 
peals, but  preach  the  doctrines  of  grace  so  as  to  bring 
out  the  full  compass  of  covenant  truth.  Ploughing 
has  had  its  turn,  now  for  planting  and  watering.  Re- 
proof may  now  give  place  to  consolation.  We  are  first  to 
make  disciples  of  men,  and  then  to  teach  them  to  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoever  Jesus  has  commanded  us. 
We  must  pass  on  from  the  rudiments  to  the  higher 
truths,  from  laying  foundations  to  further  upbuilding. 


THE    PLOUGHMAN.  85 

And  now,  another  lesson  to  those  of  you  who  are  as 
yet  hearers  and  nothing  more.  I  want  you  to  go  from 
ploughing  to  something  better,  namely,  from  hearing  and 
fearing  to  believing.  How  many  years  some  of  you  have 
been  hearing  the  gospel  !  Do  you  mean  to  continue  in 
that  state  for  ever  ?  Will  you  never  believe  in  him  of 
whom  you  hear  so  much  ?  You  have  been  stirred  up  a 
good  deal  ;  the  other  night  you  went  home  almost 
broken-hearted  ;  I  should  think  you  are  ploughed 
enough  by  this  time;  and  yet  you  have  not  received  the 
seed  of  eternal  life,  for  you  have  not  believed  in  the  Lord 
Jesus.  It  is  dreadful  to  be  always  on  the  brink  of  ever- 
lasting life,  and  yet  never  to  be  alive.  It  will  be  an 
awful  thing  to  be  almost  in  heaven,  and  yet  forever 
shut  out.  It  is  a  wretched  thing  to  rush  into  a  railway 
station  just  in  time  to  see  the  train  steaming  out  ;  I 
had  much  rather  be  half-an-hour  behind  time.  To  lose 
a  train  by  half-a-second  is  most  annoying.  Alas,  if  you 
go  on  as  you  have  done  for  years,  you  will  have  your  hand 
on  the  latch  of  heaven,  and  yet  be  shut  out.  You  will 
be  within  a  hair's-breadth  of  glory,  and  yet  be  covered 
with  eternal  shame.  O  beware  of  being  so  near  to  the 
kingdom,  and  yet  lost  ;  almost,  but  not  altogether  saved. 
God  grant  that  you  may  not  be  among  those  who  are 
ploughed,  and  ploughed,  and  ploughed,  and  yet  never 
sown.  It  will  be  of  no  avail  at  the  last  to  cry,  "  Lord, 
we  have  eaten  and  drunk  in  thy  presence,  and  thou  hast 
taught  in  our  streets.  We  had  a  seat  at  the  chapel,  we 
attended  the  services  on  week-nights  as  well  as  on  Sun- 
days, we  went  to  prayer-meetings,  we  joined  a  Bible- 
class,  we  distributed  tracts,  we  subscribed  our  guinea  to 
the  funds,  we  gave  up  every  open  sin,  we  used  a  form 
of  prayer,  and  read  a  chapter  of  the  Bible  every  day." 


86  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

All  these  things  may  be  done,  and  yet  there  may  be  no 
saving  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  Take  heed  lest  your 
Lord  should  answer,  "  With  all  this,  your  heart  never 
came  to  me  ;  therefore,  depart  from  me,  I  never  knew 
you."  If  Jesus  once  knows  a  man  he  always  knows 
him.  He  can  never  say  to  me,  "  I  never  knew  you,"  for 
he  has  known  me,  as  his  poor  dependant,  a  beggar  for 
years  at  his  door.  Some  of  you  have  been  all  that  is 
good  except  that  you  never  came  into  contact  with 
Christ,  never  trusted  him,  never  knew  him.  Ah  me, 
how  sad  your  state  !  Will  it  be  always  so  ? 

Lastly,  I  would  say  to  you  who  are  being  ploughed 
and  are  agitated  about  your  souls,  Go  at  once  to  the  next 
stage  of  believing.  Oh  !  if  people  did  but  know  how 
simple  a  thing  believing  is,  surely  they  would  believe. 
Alas,  they  do  not  know  it,  and  it  becomes  all  the 
more  difficult  to  them  because  in  itself  it  is  so  easy. 
The  difficulty  of  believing  lies  in  there  being  no  diffi- 
culty in  it.  "  If  the  prophet  had  bid  thee  do  some  great 
thing,  wouldst  thou  not  have  done  it?"  Oh,  yes,  you 
would  have  done  it,  and  you  would  have  thought  it  easy 
too  ;  but  when  he  simply  says,  "  Wash,  and  be  clean," 
there  is  a  difficulty  with  pride  and  self.  If  you  can  truly 
say  that  you  are  willing  to  abase  your  pride,  and  do 
anything  which  the  Lord  bids  you,  then  I  pray  you 
understand  that  there  is  no  further  preparation  required, 
and  believe  in  Jesus  at  once.  May  the  Holy  Spirit  make 
you  sick  of  self,  and  ready  to  accept  the  gospel.  The 
word  is  nigh  thee,  let  it  be  believed  ;  it  is  in  thy  mouth, 
let  it  be  swallowed  down  ;  it  is  in  thy  heart,  let  it  be 
trusted.  With  your  heart  believe  in  Jesus,  and  with 
your  mouth  make  confession  of  him,  and  you  shall  be 
saved.  A  main  part'  of  faith  lies  in  the  giving  up  of  all 


THE   PLOUGHMAN.  87 

other  confidences.  O  give  up  at  once  every  false  hope. 
I  tried  once  to  show  what  faith  was  by  quoting  Dr. 
Watts's  lines  : 

"  A  guilty,  weak,  and  helpless  worm, 

On  thy  kind  arms  I  fall. 
Be  them  my  strength,  and  righteousness, 
My  Jesus  and  my  all.  " 

I  tried  to  represent  faith  as  falling  into  Christ's  arms, 
and  I  thought  I  made  it  so  plain  that  the  wayfaring 
man  could  not  err  therein.  When  I  had  finished  preach- 
ing, a  young  man  came  to. me  and  said,  "  But,  sir,  I 
cannot  fall  upon  Christ's  arms."  I  replied  at  once, 
"  Tumble  into  them  anyhow  ;  faint  away  into  Christ's 
arms,  or  die  into  Christ's  arms,  so  long  as  you  get 
there."  Many  talk  of  what  they  can  do  and  what  they 
cannot  do,  and  I  fear  they  miss  the  vital  point.  Faith 
is  leaving  off  can-ing  and  cannot-ing,  and  leaving  it  all 
to  Christ,  for  he  can  do  all  things,  though  you  can  do 
nothing.  "  Doth  the  ploughman  plough  all  day  to 
sow  ?"  No,  he  makes  progress,  and  goes  from  plough- 
ing to  sowing.  Go,  and  do  thou  likewise  ;  sow  unto 
the  Spirit  the  precious  seed  of  faith  -in  Christ,  and  the 
Lord  will  give  thee  a  joyous  harvest. 


PLOUGHING  THE  ROCK. 

"  Shall  horses  run  upon  the  rock  ?  will  one  plough  there  with  oxen  ?  " — 
AMOS  6 :  12. 

THESE  expressions  are  proverbs,  taken  from  the 
familiar  sayings  of  the  east  country.  A  proverb  is  gen- 
erally a  sword  with  two  edges,  or,  if  I  may  so  say,  it 
has  many  edges,  or  is  all  edge,  and  hence  it  may  be 
turned  this.way  and  that  way,  and  every  part  of  it  will 
have  force  and  point.  A  proverb  has  often  many  bear- 
ings, and  you  cannot  always  tell  what  was  the  precise 
meaning  of  him  who  uttered  it.  The  connection  would 
abundantly  tolerate  two  senses  in  this  place.  An 
ancient  commentator  asserts  that  it  has  seven  meanings, 
and  that  any  one  of  them  would  be  consistent  with  the 
context.  I  cannot  deny  the  assertion,  and  if  it  be  cor- 
rect it  is  only  one  among  many  instances  of  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  the  Word  of  God.  Like  those  curiously 
carved  Chinese  balls  in  which  there  is  one  ball  within 
another,  so  in  many  a  holy  text  there  is  sense  within 
sense,  teaching  within  teaching,  and  each  one  worthy 
of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  first  sense  of  the  text  upon  which  I  would  say 
just  a  word  or  two  is  this  :  The  prophet  is  expostulating 
with  ungodly  men  upon  their  pursuit  of  happiness  where 
it  never  can  be  found.  They  were  endeavoring  to  grow 
rich  and  great  and  strong  by  oppression.  The  prophet 


PLOUGHING    THE    ROCK.  89 

says,  "  Ye  have  turned  judgment  into  gall,  and  the  fruit 
of  righteousness  into  hemlock."  Justice  was  bought  and 
sold  among  them,  and  the  book  of  the  law  was  made  the 
instrument  of  fraud.  "  Yet,"  says  the  prophet,  "  there 
is  no  gain  to  be  gotten  in  this  way — no  real  profit,  no 
true  happiness.  As  well  may  horses  run  upon  a  rock, 
and  oxen  plough  the  sand  ;  it  is  labor  in  vain." 

If  any  of  you  try  to  content  yourselves  with  this 
world,  any  hope  to  find  a  heaven  in  the  midst  of  your 
business  and  your  family  without  looking  upward  for 
it,  you  labor  in  vain.  If  you  hope  to  find  pleasure  in 
sin,  and  think  that  it  will  go  well  with  you  if  you  despise 
the  law  of  God,  you  will  make  a  great  mistake.  You 
might  as  well  seek  for  roses  in  the  grottoes  of  the  sea, 
or  look  for  pearls  on  the  pavements  of  the  city.  You 
will  find  what  your  soul  requires  nowhere  but  in  God. 
To  seek  after  happiness  in  evil  deeds  is  to  plough  a  rock 
of  granite.  To  labor  after  true  prosperity  by  dishonest 
means  is  as  useless  as  to  till  the  sandy  shore.  "  Where- 
fore do  you  spend  your  money  for  that  which  is  not 
bread,  and  your  labor  for  that  which  satisfieth  not?" 
Young  man,  you  are  killing  yourself  with  ambition  ; 
you  seek  your  own  honor  and  emolument,  and  this  is  a 
poor,  poor  object  for  an  immortal  soul.  And  you,  too, 
sir,  are  wearing  out  your  life  with  care  ;  your  mind  and 
body  both  fail  you  in  endeavoring  to  amass  riches,  as  if 
a  man's  life  consisted  in  the  abundance  of  the  things 
which  he  possesses  ;  you  are  ploughing  a  rock  ;  your 
cares  will  not  bring  you  joy  of  heart  or  content  of  spirit ; 
your  toil  will  end  in  failure.  And  you,  too,  who  labor 
to  weave  a  righteousness  by  your  works  apart  from 
Christ  and  fancy  that  with  the  diligent  use  of  outward 
ceremonies  you  may  be  able  to  do  the  work  of  the  Holy 


90  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

Spirit  upon  your  own  heart,  you,  too,  are  ploughing 
thankless  rock.  The  strength  of  fallen  nature  exerted 
at  its  utmost  can  never  save  a  soul.  Why,  then,  plough 
the  rock  any  longer  ?  Give  over  the  foolish  task. 

So  far,  I  believe,  we  have  not  misread  the  text,  but 
have  mentioned  a  very  probable  meaning  of  the  words  ; 
still  another  strikes  me,  which  I  think  equally  suitable, 
and  upon  it  I  shall  dwell,  by  God's  help. 

It  is  this.  God  ivill  not  always  send  his  ministers  to  call 
men  to  repentance.  When  men's  hearts  remain  obdu- 
rate, and  they  do  not  and  will  not  repent,  then  God 
will  not  always  deal  with  them  in  mercy.  "  My  Spirit 
shall  not  always  strive  with  man."  There  is  a  time  of 
ploughing,  but  when  it  is  evident  that  the  heart  is 
wilfully  hardened,  then  wisdom  itself  suggests  to  mercy 
that  she  should  give  over  her  efforts.  "  Shall  horses  run 
upon  the  rock  ?  will  one  plough  there  with  oxen  ?"  No, 
there  is  a  limit  to  the  efforts  of  kindness,  and  in  fulness 
of  time  the  labor  ceases,  and  the  rock  remains  un- 
ploughed  henceforth  and  for  ever. 

I.  Taking  that  sense,  we  shall  speak  upon  it,  and 
remark,  first,  that  MINISTERS.  LABOR  TO  BREAK  UP  MEN'S 
HEARTS  ;  the  wise  preacher  tries  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  break  up  the  hard  clods  of  the  heart,  so 
that  it  may  receive  the  heavenly  seed. 

Many  truths  are  used  like  sharp  ploughshares  to 
break  up  the  heart.  Men  must  be  made  to  feel  that  they 
have  sinned,  and  they  must  be  led  to  repent  of  sin. 
They  must  receive  Christ,  not  with  the  head  only,  but 
with  the  heart ;  for  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto 
righteousness.  There  must  be  emotion  ;  we  must  cut 
into  the  heart  with  the  ploughshare  of  the  law.  A  farmer 


PLOUGHING    THE   ROCK,  91 

who  is  too  tender-hearted  to  tear  and  harrow  the  land 
will  never  see  a  harvest.  Here  is  the  failing  of  certain 
divines,  they  are  afraid  of  hurting  any  one's  feelings, 
and  so  they  keep  clear  of  all  the  truths  which  are  likely 
to  excite  fear  or  grief.  They  have  not  a  sharp  plough- 
share on  their  premises,  and  are  never  likely  to  have  a 
stack  in  their  rickyard.  They  angle  without  hooks  for 
fear  of  hurting  the  fish,  and  fire  without  bullets  out  of 
respect  to  the  feelings  of  the  birds.  This  kind  of  love 
is  real  cruelty  to  men's  souls.  It  is  much  the  same  as 
if  a  surgeon  should  permit  a  patient  to  die  because  he 
would  not  pain  him  with  the  lancet,  or  by  the  necessary 
removal  of  a  limb.  It  is  a  terrible  tenderness  which 
leaves  men  to  sink  into  hell  rather  than  distress  their 
minds.  It  is  pleasant  to  prophesy  smooth  things,  but 
woe  unto  the  man  who  thus  degrades  himself.  Is  this 
the  spirit  of  Christ  ?  Did  he  conceal  the  sinner's  peril  ? 
Did  he  cast  doubt  upon  the  unquenchable  fire  and  the  un- 
dying worm  ?  Did  he  lull  souls  into  slumber  by  smooth 
strains  of  flattery  ?  Nay,  but  with  honest  love  and 
anxious  concern  he  warned  men  of  the  wrath  to  come, 
and  bade  them  repent  or  perish.  Let  the  servant  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  in  this  thing  follow  his  Master,  and  plough 
deep  with  a  sharp  ploughshare,  which  will  not  be  balked 
by  the  hardest  clods.  This  we  must  school  ourselves  to 
do.  If  we  really  love  the  souls  of  men,  let  us  prove  it 
by  honest  speech.  The  hard  heart  must  be  broken, 
or  it  will  still  refuse  the  Saviour  who  was  sent  to  bind 
up  the  broken-hearted.  There  are  some  things  which 
men  may  or  may  not  have,  and  yet  may  be  saved  ;  but 
those  things  which  go  with  the  ploughing  of  the  heart 
are  indispensable  ;  there  must  be  a  holy  fear  and  a  humble 
trembling  before  God  ;  there  must  be  an  acknowledg- 


92  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

ment  of  guilt 'and  a  penitent  petition  for  mercy  ;  there 
must,  in  a  word,  be  a  thorough  ploughing  of  the  soul 
before  we  can  expect  the  seed  to  bring  forth  fruit. 

II.  But  the  text  indicates  to  us  that  AT  TIMES  MIN- 
ISTERS LABOR  IN  VAIN.  "  Shall  horses  run  upon  the  rock  ? 
will  one  plough  there  with  oxen  ?"  In  a  short  time  a 
ploughman  feels  whether  the  plough  will  go  or  not, 
and  so  does  the  minister.  He  may  use  the  very  same 
words  in  one  place  which  he  has  used  in  another,  but 
he  feels  in  the  one  place  great  joy  and  hopefulness  in 
preaching,  while  with  another  audience  he  has  heavy 
work,  and  little  hope.  The  plough  in  the  last  case  seems 
to  jump  out  of  the  furrow  ;  and  a  bit  of  the  share  is 
broken  off  now  and  then.  He  says  to  himself,  "  I  do  not 
know  how  it  is,  but  I  do  not  get  on  at  this,"  and  he  finds 
that  his  Master  has  sent  him  to  work  upon  a  particu- 
larly heavy  soil.  All  laborers  for  Christ  know  that 
this  is  occasionally  the  case.  You  must  have  found  it  so 
in  a  Sunday-school  class,  or  in  a  cottage  meeting,  or  in 
any  other  gathering  where  you  have  tried  to  teach  and 
preach  Jesus.  You  have  said  to  yourself  every  now  and 
then,  "  Now  I  am  ploughing  a  rock.  Before,  I  turned  up 
rich  mould  which  a  yoke  of  oxen  might  plough  with  ease, 
and  a  horse  might  even  run  at  the  work  ;  but  now  the 
horse  may  tug,  and  the  oxen  may  wearily  toil  till  they 
gall  their  shoulders,  but  they  cannot  cut  a  furrow  ;  the 
rock  is  stubborn  to  the  last  degree." 

There  are  such  hearers  in  all  congregations.  They 
are  as  iron,  and  yet  they  are  side  by  side  with  a  fine  plot 
of  ground.  Their  sister,  their  brother,  their  son,  their 
daughter,  all  these  have  readily  felt  the  power  of  the 
gospel  ;  but  they  do  not  feel  it.  They  hear  it  respect- 


PLOUGHING    THE    ROCK.  93 

fully  ;  and  they  so  far  allow  it  free  course  that  they  per- 
mit it  to  go  in  at  one  ear  and  out  at  the  other,  but  they 
will  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  it.  They  would  not 
like  to  be  Sabbath-breakers  and  stop  away  from  wor- 
ship ;  they  therefore  do  the  gospel  the  questionable 
compliment  of  coming  where  it  is  preached  and  then 
refusing  to  regard  it.  They  are  hard,  hard,  hard  bits 
of  rock,  the  plough  does  not  touch  them. 

Many,  on  the  other  hand,  are  equally  hard  ;  but  it 
is  in  another  way.  The  impression  made  by  the  word 
is  not  deep  or  permanent.  They  receive  it  with  joy,  but 
they  do  not  retain  it.  They  listen  with  attention,  but  it 
never  comes  to  practice  with  them.  They  hear  about 
repentance,  but  they  never  repent.  They  hear  about 
faith,  but  they  never  believe.  They  are  good  judges  of 
what  the  gospel  is,  and  yet  they  have  never  accepted  it 
for  themselves.  They  will  not  eat  ;  but  still  they  insist 
that  good  bread  shall  be  put  on  the  table.  They  are 
great  sticklers  for  the  very  things  which  they  personally 
reject.  They  are  moved  to  feeling  ;  they  shed  tears 
occasionally  ;  but  still  their  hearts  are  not  really  broken 
up  by  the  word.  They  go  their  way,  and  forget  what 
manner  of  men  they  are.  They  are  rocky-hearted 
through  and  through  ;  all  our  attempts  to  plough  them 
are  failures. 

Now  this  is  all  the  worse,  because  certain  of  these 
rocky-hearted  people  have  been  ploughed  for  years,  and 
have  become  harder  instead  of  softer.  Once  or  twice 
ploughing,  and  a  broken  share  or  two,  and  a  disappointed 
ploughman  or  two,  we  might  not  mind,  if  they  would 
yield  at  last  ;  but  these  have  since  their  childhood  known 
the  gospel  and  never  given  way  before  its  power.  It  is  a 
good  while  since  their  childhood  now  with  some  of  them. 


94  TALKS    TO   FARMERS. 

Their  hair  is  turning  gray,  and  they  themselves  are  get- 
ting feeble  with  years.  They  have  been  entreated 
and  persuaded  times  beyond  number,  but  labor  has  been 
lost  upon  them.  In  fact,  they  used  to  feel  the  word,  in 
a  certain  fashion,  far  more  years  ago  than  they  do  now. 
The  sun,  which  softens  wax,  hardens  clay,  and  the  same 
gospel  which  has  brought  others  to  tenderness  and  re- 
pentance has  exercised  a  contrary  effect  upon  them,  and 
made  them  more  careless  about  divine  things  than  they 
were  in  their  youth.  This  is  a  mournful  state  of  things, 
is  it  not  ? 

Why  are  certain  men  so  extremely  rocky  ?  Some 
are  so  from  a  peculiar  stolidity  of  nature.  There  are  many 
people  in  the  world  whom  you  cannot  very  well  move, 
they  have  a  great  deal  of  granite  in  their  constitution,  and 
are  more  nearly  related  to  Mr.  Obstinate  than  to  Mr. 
Pliable.  Now,  I  do  not  think  badly  of  these  people, 
because  one  knows  what  it  is  to  preach  to  an  excitable 
people,  and  to  get  them  all  stirred,  and  to  know  that 
in  the  end  they  are  none  the  better  ;  whereas  some  of  the 
more  stolid  and  immovable  people  when  they  are  moved 
are  moved  indeed  ;  when  they  do  feel  they  feel  intensely, 
and  they  retain  any  impression  that  is  made.  A  little 
chip  made  in  granite  by  very  hard  blows  will  abide  there, 
while  the  lashing  of  water,  which  is  easy  enough,  will 
leave  no  trace  even  for  a  moment.  It' is  a  grand  thing 
to  get  hold  of  a  fine  piece  of  rock  and  to  exercise  faith 
about  it.  The  Lord's  own  hammer  has  mighty  power  to 
break,  and  in  the  breaking  great  glory  comes  to  the  Most 
High. 

Worse  still,  certain  men  are  hard  because  of  their 
infidelity — not  heart-infidelity  all  of  it,  but  an  infidel- 
ity which  springs  out  of  a  desire  not  to  believe,  which 


PLOUGHING    THE    ROCK.  95 

has  helped  them  to  discover  difficulties.  These  difficul- 
ties exist,  and  were  meant  to  exist,  for  there  would  be  no 
room  for  faith  if  everything  were  as  plain  as  the  nose 
on  one's  face.  These  persons  have  gradually  come  to 
doubt,  or  to  think  that  they  doubt,  essential  truths,  and 
this  renders  them  impervious  to  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

A  much  more  numerous  body  are  orthodox  enough, 
but  hard-hearted  for  all  that.  Worldliness  hardens  a 
man  in  every  way.  It  often  dries  up  all  charity  to  the 
poor,  because  the  man  must  make  money,  and  he  thinks 
that  the  poor-rates  are  sufficient  excuse  for  neglecting 
the  offices  of  charity.  He  has  no  time  to  think  of  the 
next  world  ;  he  must  spend  all  his  thoughts  upon  the 
present  one.  Money  is  tight,  and  therefore  he  must  hold 
it  tight  ;  and  when  money  brings  in  little  interest,  he 
finds  therein  a  reason  for  being  the  more  niggardly.  He 
has  no  time  for  prayer,  he  must  get  down  to  the  counting- 
house.  He  has  no  time  for  reading  his  Bible,  his  ledger 
wants  him.  You  may  knock  at  his  door,  but  his  heart 
is  not  at  home  ;  it  is  in  the  counting-house,  wherein  he 
lives  and  moves  and  has  his  being.  His  god  is  his  gold, 
his  bliss  is  his  business,  his  all  in  all  is  himself.  What 
is  the  use  of  preaching  to  him  ?  As  well  may  horses  run 
upon  a  rock,  or  oxen  drag  a  plough  across  a  field  sheeted 
with  iron  a  mile  thick. 

With  some,  too,  there  is  a  hardness,  produced  by  what 
I  might  almost  call  the  opposite  of  stern  worldliness, 
namely,  a  general  lev.ty.  They  are  naturally  butterflies 
flitting  about  and  doing  nothing.  They  never  think,  or 
want  to  think.  Half  a  thought  exhausts  them,  and  they 
must  needs  be  diverted,  or  their  feeble  minds  will  utterly 
weary.  They  live  in  a  round  of  amusement.  To  them 
the  world  is  a  stage,  and  all  the  men  and  women  only 


96  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

players.  It  is  of  little  use  to  preach  to  them  ;  there  is 
no  depth  of  earth  in  their  superficial  nature  ;  beneath  a 
sprinkling  of  shifting  worthless  sand  lies  an  impenetra- 
ble rock  of  utter  stupidity  and  senselessness.  I  might 
thus  multiply  reasons  why  some  are  harder  than  others, 
but  it  is  a  well-assured  fact  that  they  are  so,  and  there  I 
leave  the  matter. 

III.  I  shall  now  ask  everybody  to  judge  whether  the 
running  of  horses  upon  a  rock  and  the  ploughing  there 
with  oxen  shall  always  be  continued.  I  assert  that  IT  is 

UNREASONABLE  TO  EXPECT  THAT   GOD'S    SERVANTS  SHOULD 

ALWAYS  CONTINUE  TO  LABOR  IN  VAIN.  These  people  have 
been  preached  to,  taught,  instructed,  admonished,  ex- 
postulated with,  and  advised  ;  shall  this  unrecompensed 
work  be  always  performed  ?  We  have  given  them  a  fair 
trial  ;  what  do  reason  and  prudence  say  ?  Are  we  bound 
to  persevere  till  we  are  worn  out  by  this  unsuccessful 
work  ?  We  will  ask  it  of  men  who  plough  their  own 
farms  ;  do  they  recommend  perseverance  when  failure 
is  certain  ?  Shall  horses  run  upon  the  rock  ?  Shall  one 
plough  there  with  oxen  ?  Surely  not  for  ever. 

I  think  we  shall  all  agree  that  labor  in  vain  cannot 
be  continued  for  ever  if  we  consider  the  ploughman.  He 
does  not  want  to  be  much  considered  ;  but  still  his 
Master  does  not  overlook  him.  See  how  weary  he 
grows  when  the  work  discourages  him.  He  goes  to  his 
Master  with,  "  Who  hath  believed  our  report,  and  to 
whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed  ?"  "  Why  hast 
thou  sent  me,"  says  he,  "  to  a  people  that  have  ears  but 
hear  not  ?  They  sit  as  thy  people  sit,  and  they  hear  as 
thy  people  hear,  and  then  they  go  their  way  and  they 
forget  every  word  that  is  spoken,  and  they  obey  not 


PLOUGHING    THE   ROCK.  97 

the  voice  of  the  Lord."  See  how  disappointed  the 
preacher  becomes.  It  is  always  hard  work  when  you 
appear  to  get  no  forwarder,  although  you  do  your 
utmost.  No  man,  whoever  he  may  be,  likes  to  be  set 
upon  work  which  appears  to  be  altogether  a  waste  of 
time  and  effort.  To  his  own  mind  it  seems  to  have  a 
touch  of  the  ridiculous  about  it,  and  he  fears  that  he 
will  be  despised  of  his  fellows  for  aiming  at  the  impos- 
sible. Shall  it  always  be  the  lot  of  God's  ministers  to 
be  trifled  with  ?  Will  the  great  Husbandman  bid  his 
ploughmen  spill  their  lives  for  nought  ?  Must  his 
preachers  continue  to  cast  pearls  before  swine  ?  If  the 
consecrated  workers  are  so  bidden  by  their  Lord  they 
will  persevere  in  their  painful  task  ;  but  their  Master  is 
considerate  of  them,  and  I  ask  you  also  to  consider 
whether  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  a  zealous  heart  to  be 
for  ever  occupied  with  the  salvation  of  those  who  never 
respond  to  its  anxiety  ?  Shall  the  horses  always  plough 
upon  the  rock  ?  Shall  the  oxen  always  labor  there  ? 

Again,  there  is  the  Master  to  be  considered.  The 
Lord — is  he  always  to  be  resisted  and  provoked  ?  Many 
of  you  have  had  eternal  life  set  before  you  as  the  result  of 
believing  in  Jesus  ;  and  you  have  refused  to  believe. 
It  is  a  wonder  that  my  Lord  has  not  said  to  me,  "  You 
have  done  your  duty  with  them  ;  never  set  Christ  before 
them  again  ;  my  Son  shall  not  be  insulted."  If  you  offer 
a  beggar  in  the  street  a  shilling  and  he  will  not  have  it, 
you  cheerfully  put  it  into  your  purse  and  go  your  way  ; 
you  do  not  entreat  him  to  have  his  wants  relieved.  But, 
behold,  our  God  in  mercy  begs  sinners  to  come  to  him, 
and  implores  them  to  accept  his  Son.  In  his  condescen- 
sion he  even  stands  like  a  salesman  in  the  market,  cry- 
ing, "  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the 


98  tALRS   TO   FARMERS. 

waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  money  ;  come,  _buy  wine 
and  milk  without  money  and  without  price."  In  an- 
other place  he  says  of  himself,  "  All  day  long  have  I 
stretched  out  my  hands  to  a  disobedient  and  gainsay- 
ing generation."  If  the  Lord  of  mercy  has  been  refused 
so  long  in  the  sight  of  you  who  reverence  him,  does  not 
some  indignation  mingle  with  your  pity,  and  while  you 
love  sinners  and  would  have  them  saved,  do  you  not 
feel  in  your  heart  that  there  must  be  an  end  to  such 
insulting  behavior  ?  I  ask  even  the  careless  to  think  of 
the  matter  in  this  light,  and  if  they  do  not  respect  the 
ploughman,  yet  let  them  have  regard  to  his  Master. 

And  then,  again,  there  are  so  many  other  people  who 
are  needing  the  gospel,  and  who  would  receive  it  if 
they  had  it,  that  it  would  seem  to  be  wise  to  leave 
off  wearying  oneself  about  those  who  despise  it.  What 
did  our  Lord  say  ?  He  said  that  if  the  mighty  things 
which  had  been  done  in  Bethsaida  and  Chorazin  had  been 
done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon,  they  would  have  repented. 
What  is  more  wonderful  still,  he  says  that  if  he  had 
wrought  the  same  miracles  in  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
which  were  wrought  in  Capernaum,  they  would  have 
repented  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  Does  it  not  occur  to 
us  at  once  to  give  the  word  to  those  who  will  have  it, 
and  leave  the  despisers  to  perish  in  their  own  wilful 
ness  ?  Does  not  reason  say,  "  Let  us  send  this  medi- 
cine where  there  are  sick  people  who  will  value  it  ?" 
Thousands  of  people  are  wi/ling  to  hear  the  gospel.  See 
how  they  crowd  wherever  the  preacher  goes — how  they 
tread  upon  one  another  in  their  anxiety  to  listen  to 
him  ;  and  if  these  people  who  hear  him  every  day  will 
not  receive  his  message,  "  in  God's  name,"  saith  he, 
"  let  me  go  where  there  is  a  probability  of  finding  soil 


PLOUGHING    THE    ROCK.  99 

that  can  be  ploughed."  "  Shall  horses  run  upon  the 
rock  ?  Will  one  plough  there  with  oxen  ?"  Must  I 
work  always  where  nothing  comes  of  it  ?  Does  not 
reason  say,  let  the  word  go  to  China,  to  Hindostan,  or 
to  the  utmost  parts  of  the  earth,  where  they  will  receive 
it  ;  for  those  who  have  it  preached  in  the  corners  of 
their  streets  despise  it  ? 

I  shall  not  lengthen  this  argument,  but  shall  sol- 
emnly put  the  question  again.  Would  any  of  you  con- 
tinue to  pursue  an  object  when  it  has  proved  to  be  hope- 
less ?  Do  you  wonder  that  when  the  Lord  has  sent  his 
servants  to  speak  kind,  gracious,  tender  words,  and 
men  have  not  heard,  he  says  to  them,  "  They  are  joined 
unto  their  idols  ;  let  them  alone  "  ?  There  is  a  boun- 
dary to  the  patience  of  men,  and  we  soon  arrive  at  it ; 
and  assuredly  there  is  a  limit,  though  it  is  long  before 
we  outrun  it,  to  the  patience  of  God.  "  At  length," 
he  says,  "it  is  enough.  My  Spirit  shall  no  longer 
strive  with  them."  If  the  Lord  says  this  can  any  of  us 
complain  ?  Is  not  this  the  way  of  wisdom  ?  Does  not 
prudence  itself  dictate  it  ?  Any  thoughtful  mind  will 
say,  "  Ay,  ay,  a  rock  cannot  be  ploughed  for  ever." 

IV.  Fourthly.  THERE  MUST  BE  AN  ALTERATION,  then, 
and  that  speedily.  The  oxen  shall  be  taken  off  from 
such  toil.  It  can  be  easily  done,  and  done  soon.  It  can 
be  effected  in  three  ways. 

First,  the  unprofitable  hearer  can  be  removed  so 
that  he  shall  no  more  hear  the  gospel  from  the  lips  of  his 
best  approved  minister.  There  is  a  preacher  who  has 
some  sort  of  power  over  him  ;  but  as  he  rejects  his 
testimony,  and  remains  impenitent,  the  man  shall  be 
removed  to  another  town,  where  he  shall  hear  monoto- 


100  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

nous  discourses  which  will  not  touch  his  conscience.  He 
shall  go  where  he  shall  be  no  longer  persuaded  and  en- 
treated ;  and  there  he  will  sleep  himself  into  hell.  That 
may  be  readily  enough  done  ;  perhaps  some  of  you  are 
making  arrangements  even  now  for  your  own  removal 
from  the  field  of  hope. 

Another  way  is  to  take  away  the  ploughman.  He 
has  done  his  work  as  best  he  could,  and  he  shall  be 
released  from  his  hopeless  task.  He  is  weary.  Let  him 
go  home.  The  soil  would  not  break  up,  but  he  could 
not  help  that  ;  let  him  have  his  wage.  He  has  broken 
his  plough  at  the  work  ;  let  him  go  home  and  hear  his 
Lord  say,  "  Well  done."  He  was  willing  to  keep  on  at 
the  disheartening  labor  as  long  as  his  Master  bade  him  ; 
but  it  is  evidently  useless,  therefore  let  him  go  home, 
for  his  work  is  done.  He  has  been  sore  sick,  let  him  die, 
and  enter  into  his  rest.  This  is  by  no  means  improb- 
able. 

Or,  there  may  happen  something  else.  The  Lord 
may  say,  "  That  piece  of  work  shall  never  trouble  the 
ploughman  any  more.  I  will  take  it  away."  And  he 
may  take  it  away  in  this  fashion  :  the  man  who  has 
heard  the  gospel,  but  rejected  it,  will  die.  I  pray  my 
Master  that  he  will  not  suffer  any  one  of  you  to  die  in 
your  sins,  for  then  we  cannot  reach  you  any  more,  or 
indulge  the  faintest  hope  for  you.  No  prayer  of  ours 
can  follow  you  into  eternity.  There  is  one  name  by 
which  you  may  be  saved,  and  that  name  is  sounded  in 
your  ears — the  name  of  Jesus  ;  but  if  you  reject  him 
now,  even  that  name  will  not  save  you.  If  you  do  not 
take  Jesus  to  be  your  Saviour  he  will  appear  as  your 
judge.  I  pray  you,  do  not  destroy  your  own  souls  by 
continuing  to  be  obstinate  against  almighty  love. 


PLOUGHING    THE   ROCK.  161 

God  grant  that  some  better  thing  may  happen.  Can 
nothing  else  be  done  ?  This  soil  is  rock  ;  can  we  not 
sow  it  without  breaking  it  ?  No.  Without  repentance 
there  is  ho  remission  of  sin.  But  is  there  not  a  way  of 
saving  men  without  the  grace  of  God  ?  The  Lord  Jesus 
did  not  say  so  ;  but  he  said,  "  He  that  believeth  and  is 
baptized  shall  be  saved,  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall 
be  damned."  He  did  not  hint  at  a  middle  course  or 
hold  out  a  "  larger  hope  ;"  but  he  declared  "  He  that 
believeth  not  shall  be  damned,"  and  so  he  must  be. 
Dream  not  of  a  back  door  to  heaven,  for  the  Lord  has 
provided  none. 

What  then  ?  Shall  the  preacher  continue  his  fruit- 
less toil  ?  If  there  is  only  half  a  hope  left  him,  he  is 
willing  to  go  on  and  say,  "  Hear,  ye  deaf,  and  see,  ye 
blind,  and  live,  ye  dead."  He  will  even  so  speak  this 
day,  for  his  Master  bids  him  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature  ;  but  it  will  be  hard  work  to  repeat  the  word  of 
exhortation  for  years  to  those  who  will  not  hear  it. 

Happily  there  is  one  other  turn  which  affairs  may 
take.  There  is  a  God  in  heaven,  let  us  pray  to  him  to 
put  forth  his  power.  Jesus  is  at  his  side,  let  us  invoke 
his  interposition.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  almighty,  let  us 
call  for  his  aid.  Brothers  who  plough  and  sisters  who 
pray,  cry  to  the  Master  for  help.  The  horse  and  the 
ox  evidently  fail,  but  there  remains  One  above  who  is 
able  to  work  great  marvels.  Did  he  not  once  speak  to 
the  rock,  and  turn  the  flint  into  a  stream  of  water  ? 
Let  us  pray  him  to  tlo  the  same  now. 

And,  oh,  if  there  is  one  who  feels  and  mourns  that 
his  heart  is  like  a  piece  of  rock,  I  am  glad  he  feels  it  ;  for 
he  who  feels  that  his  heart  is  a  rock  gives  some  evidence 
that  the  flint  is  being  transformed.  O  rock,  instead  of 


loi  TALKS  to  FARMERS. 

smiting  thee,  as  Moses  smote  the  rock  in  the  wilderness 
and  erred  therein,  I  would  speak  to  thee.  O  rock, 
wouldst  thou  become  like  wax  ?  O  rock,  wouldst 
thou  dissolve  into  rivers  of  repentance  ?  Hearken  to 
God's  voice  !  O  rock,  break  with  good  desire  !  O 
rock,  dissolve  with  longing  after  Christ,  for  God  is 
working  upon  thee  now.  Who  knows  but  at  this 
very  moment  thou  shall  begin  to  crumble  down.  Dost 
thou  feel  the  power  of  the  Word  ?  Does  the  sharp 
ploughshare  touch  thee  just  now?  Break  and  break 
again,  till  by  contrition  thou  art  dissolved,  for  then  will 
the  good  seed  of  the  gospel  come  to  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  receive  it  into  thy  bosom,  and  we  shall  all  behold 
the  fruit  thereof.  And  so  I  will  fling  one  more  handful 
of  good  corn,  and  have  done.  If  thou  desirest  eternal 
life,  trust  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  art  saved  at  once. 
"  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth,"  says  Christ,  "  for  I  am  God,  and  beside  me  there 
is  none  else."  He  that  believeth  in  him  hath  everlast- 
ing life.  "  Like  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the 
wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up  : 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  eternal  life." 

O  Lord,  break  up  the  rock,  and  let  the  seed  drop  in 
among  its  broken  substance,  and  get  thou  a  harvest 
from  the  dissolved  granite,  at  this  time,  for  Jesus  Christ's 
sake.  Amen. 


THE   PARABLE   OF  THE   SOWER. 

"  And  when  much  people  were  gathered  together,  and  were  come  to  him 
out  of  every  city,  he  spake  by  a  parable:  a  sower  went  out  to  sow  his  seed:  and 
as  he  sowed,  some  fell  by  the  wayside;  and  it  was  trodden  down,  and  the  fowls 
of  the  air  devoured  it.  And  some  fell  upon  a  rock ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was 
sprung  up,  it  withered  away,_  because  it  lacked  moisture.  And  some  fell 
among  thorns  ;  and  the  thorns  sprang  up  with  it  and  choked  it.  And  other 
fell  on  good  ground,  and  sprang  up,  and  bare  fruit  an  hundredfold.  And 
when  he  had  said  these  things,  he  cried,  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him 
hear." — LUKE  8 :  4-8. 

IN  our  country,  when  a  sower  goes  forth  to  his 
work,  he  generally  enters  into  an  enclosed  field,  and 
scatters  the  seed  from  his  basket  along  every  ridge  and 
furrow  ;  but  in  the  East,  the  corn-growing  country,  hard 
by  a  small  town,  is  usually  an  open  area.  It  is  divided 
into  different  properties,  but  there  are  no  visible  divis- 
ions, except  the  ancient  landmarks,  or  perhaps  ridges  of 
stones.  Through  these  open  lands  there  are  footpaths, 
the  most  frequented  being  called  the  highways.  You 
must  not  imagine  these  highways  to  be  like  our  macad- 
amized roads  ;  they  are  merely  paths,  trodden  tolerably 
hard.  Here  and  there  you  notice  by-ways,  along  which 
travellers  who  wish  to  avoid  the  public  road  may  jour- 
ney with  a  little  more  safety  when  the  main  road  is 
infested  with  robbers  ;  hasty  travellers  also  strike  out 
short  cuts  for  themselves,  and  so  open  fresh  tracks  for 
others.  When  the  sower  goes  forth  to  sow  he  finds  a 
plot  of  ground  scratched  over  with  the  primitive  Eastern 


104  TALKS   TO    FARMfcRS. 

plough  ;  he  aims  at  scattering  his  seed  there  most  plen- 
tifully ;  but  a  path  runs  through  the  centre  of  his  field, 
and  unless  he  is  willing  to  leave  a  broad  headland,  he 
must  throw  a  handful  upon  it.  Yonder,  a  rock  crops 
out  in  the  midst  of  the  ploughed  land,  and  the  seed  falls 
on  its  shallow  soil.  Here  is  a  corner  full  of  the  roots  of 
nettles  and  thistles,  and  he  flings  a  little  here  ;  the  corn 
and  the  nettles  come  up  together,  and  the  thorns  being 
the  stronger  soon  choke  the  seed,  so  that  it  brings  forth 
no  fruit  unto  perfection.  The  recollection  that  the 
Bible  was  written  in  the  East,  and  that  its  metaphors 
and  allusions  must  be  explained  to  us  by  Eastern  travel- 
lers, will  often  help  us  to  understand  a  passage  far  better 
than  if  we  think  of  English  customs. 

The  preacher  of  the  gospel  is  like  the  sower.  He 
does  not  make  his  seed  ;  it  is  given  him  by  his  divine 
Master.  No  man  could  create  the  smallest  grain  that 
ever  grew  upon  the  earth,  much  less  the  celestial  seed 
of  eternal  life.  The  minister  goes  to  his  Master  in 
secret,  and  asks  him  to  teach  him  his  gospel,  and  thus 
he  fills  his  basket  with  the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom. 
He  then  goes  forth  in  his  Master's  name  and  scatters 
precious  truth.  If  he  knew  where  the  best  soil  was  to 
be  found,  perhaps  he  might  limit  himself  to  that  which 
had  been  prepared  by  the  plough  of  conviction  ;  but 
not  knowing  men's  hearts,  it  is  his  business  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature — to  throw  a  handful  on  the 
hardened  heart,  and  another  on  the  mind  which  is  over- 
grown with  the  cares  and  pleasures  of  the  world.  He 
has  to  leave  the  seed  in  the  care  of  the  Lord  who  gave  it 
to  him,  for  he  is  not  responsible  for  the  harvest,  he  is 
only  accountable  for  the  care  and  industry  with  which 
he  does  his  work.  If  no  single  ear  should  ever  make 


THE    PARABLE    OF    THE    SOWER.  105 

glad  the  reaper,  the  sower  will  be  rewarded  by  his  Mas- 
ter if  he  had  planted  the  right  seed  with  careful  hand. 
If  it  were  not  for  this  fact  with  what  despairing  agony 
should  we  utter  the  cry  of  Esaias,  "  Who  hath  believed 
our  report?  and  to  whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  re- 
vealed ?" 

Our  duty  is  not  measured  by  the  character  of  our 
hearers,  but  by  the  command  of  our  God.  We  are 
bound  to  preach  the  gospel,  whether  men  will  hear,  or 
whether  they  will  forbear.  It  is  ours  to  sow  beside  all 
waters.  Let  men's  hearts  be  what  they  may  the  minister 
must  preach  the  gospel  to  them  ;  he  must  sow  the  seed 
on  the  rock  as  well  as  in  the  furrow,  on  the  highway  as 
well  as  in  the  ploughed  field. 

I  shall  now  address  myself  to  the  four  classes  of  hear- 
ers mentioned  in  our  Lord's  parable.  We  have,  first  of 
all,  those  who  are  represented  by  the  way-side,  those 
who  are  "  hearers  only";  then  those  represented  by  the 
stony  ground ;  these  are  transiently  impressed,  but  the 
word  produces  no  lasting  fruit  ;  then,,  those  among 
thorns,  on  whom  a  good  impression  is  produced,  but  the 
cares  of  this  life,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  and  the 
pleasures  of  the  world  choke  the  seed  ;  and  lastly,  that 
small  class — God  be  pleased  to  multiply  it  exceedingly 
— that  small  class  of  good  ground  hearers,  in  whom  the 
Word  brings  forth  abundant  fruit. 

I.  First  of  all,  I  address  myself  to  those  hearts 
which  are  like  the  WAY-SIDE:  "  Some  fell  by  the  way- 
side ;  and  it  was  trodden  down,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air 
devoured  it."  Many  of  you  do  not  go  to  the  place  of 
worship  desiring  a  blessing.  You  do  not  intend  to 
worship  God,  or  to  be  affected  by  anything  that  you 


100  v         TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

hear.  You  are  like  the  highway,  which  was  never  in- 
tended to  be  a  cornfield.  If  a  single  grain  of  truth 
should  fall  into  your  heart  and  grow  it  would  be  as 
great  a  wonder  as  for  corn  to  grow  up  in  the  street.  If 
the  seed  shall  be  dexterously  scattered,  some  of  it  will 
fall  upon  you,  and  rest  for  a  while  upon  your  thoughts. 
'Tis  true  you  will  not  understand  it  ;  but,  nevertheless, 
if  it  be  placed  before  you  in  an  interesting  style,  you 
will  -talk  about  it  till  some  more  congenial  entertain- 
ment shall  attract  you.  Even  this  slender  benefit- is 
brief,  for  in  a  little  season  you  will  forget  all  that  you 
have  heard.  Would  to  God  we  could  hope  that  our 
words  would  tarry  with  you  ;  but  we  cannot  hope  it,  for 
the  soil  of  your  heart  is  so  hard  beaten  by  continual 
traffic,  that  there  is  no  hope  of  the  seed  finding  a  living 
root-hold.  Satan  is  constantly  passing  over  your  heart 
with  his  company  of  blasphemies,  lusts,  lies,  and  vani- 
ties. The  chariots  of  pride  roll  along  it,  and  the  feet  of 
greedy  mammon  tread  it  till  it  is  hard  as  adamant. 
Alas  !  for  the  good  seed,  it  finds  not  a  moment's  res- 
pite ;  crowds  pass  and  repass  ;  in  fact,  your  soul  is  an 
exchange,  across  which  continually  hurry  the  busy  feet 
of  those  who  make  merchandise  of  the  souls  of  men. 
You  are  buying  and  selling,  but  you  little  think  that 
you  are  selling  the  truth,  and  that  you  are  buying  your 
soul's  destruction.  You  have  no  time,  you  say,  to  think 
of  religion.  No,  the  road  of  your  heart  is  such  a 
crowded  thoroughfare,  that  there  is  no  room  for  the 
wheat  to  spring  up.  If  it  did  begin  to  germinate,  some 
rough  foot  would  crush  the  green  blade  ere  it  could 
come  to  perfection.  The  seed  has  occasionally  lain  long 
enough  to  begin  to  sprout,  but  just  then  a  new  place  of 
amusement  has  been  opened,  and  you  have  entered 


THE   PARABLE   OF    THE   SOWER.  107 

there,  and  as  with  an  iron  heel,  the  germ  of  life  that 
was  in  the  seed  was  crushed  out.  Corn  could  not  grow 
in  Cornhill  or  Cheapside,  however  excellent  the  seed 
might  be  ;  your  heart  is  just  like  those  crowded 
thoroughfares  ;  for  so  many  cares  and  sins  throng  it? 
and  so  many  proud,  vain,  evil,  rebellious  thoughts 
against  God  pass  through  it,  that  the  seed  of  truth  can- 
not grow. 

We  have  looked  at  this  hard  roadside,  let  us  now 
describe  what  becomes  of  the  good  word,  when  it  falls 
upon  such  a  heart.  It  would  have  grown  if  it  had  fallen 
on  right  soil,  but  it  has  dropped  into  the  wrong  place, 
and  it  remains  as  dry  as  when  it  fell  from  the  sower's 
hand.  The  word  of  the  gospel  lies  upon  the  surface  of 
such  a  heart,  but  never  enters  it.  Like  the  snow,  which 
sometimes  falls  upon  our  streets,  drops  upon  the  wet 
pavement,  melts,  and  is  gone  at  once,  so  is  it  with  this 
man.  The  word  has  not  time  to  quicken  in  his  soul  ; 
it  lies  there  an  instant,  but  it  never  strikes  root,  or  takes 
the  slightest  effect. 

Why  do  men  come  to  hear  if  the  word  never  enters 
their  hearts  ?  That  has  often  puzzled  us.  Some  hear- 
ers would  not  be  absent  on  the  Sunday  on  any  account; 
they  are  delighted  to  come  up  with  us  to  worship,  but 
yet  the  tear  never  trickles  down  their  cheek,  their  soul 
never  mounts  up  to  heaven  on  the  wings  of  praise,  nor 
do  they  truly  join  in  our  confessions  of  sin.  They  do 
not  think  of  the  wrath  to  come,  nor  of  the  future  state 
of  their  souls.  Their  heart  is  as  iron  ;  the  minister 
might  as  well  speak  to  a 'heap  of  stones  as  preach  to 
them.  What  brings  these  senseless  sinners  here  ? 
Surely  we  are  as  hopeful  of  converting  lions  and  leop- 
ards as  these  untamed,  insensible  hearts.  Oh  feeling  ! 


108  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

thou  art  fled  to  brutish  beasts,  and  men  have  lost  their 
reason  !  Do  these  people  come  to  our  assemblies  be- 
cause it  is  respectable  to  attend  a  place  of  worship  ?  Or 
is  it  that  their  coming  helps  to  make  them  comfortable 
in  their  sins  ?  If  they  stopped  away  conscience  would 
prick  them  ;  but  they  come  hither  that  they  may  flatter 
themselves  with  the  notion  that  they  are  religious.  Oh  ! 
my  hearers,  your  case  is  one  that  might  make  an  angel 
weep  !  How  sad  to  have  the  sun  of  the  gospel  shining 
on  your  faces,  and  yet  to  have  blind  eyes  that  never  see 
the  light  !  The  music  of  heaven  is  lost  upon  you,  for 
you  have  no  ears  to  hear.  You  can  catch  the  turn  of  a 
phrase,  you  can  appreciate  the  poetry  of  an  illustration, 
but  the  hidden  meaning,  the  divine  life,  you  do  not  per- 
ceive. You  sit  at  the  marriage-feast,  but  you  eat  not  of 
the  dainties  ;  the  bells  of  heaven  ring  with  joy  over 
ransomed  spirits,  but  you  live  unransomed,  without 
God,  and  without  Christ.  Though  we  plead  with  you, 
and  pray  for  you,  and  weep  over  you,  you  still  remain 
as  hardened,  as  careless,  and  as  thoughtless  as  ever  you 
were.  May  God  have  mercy  on  you,  and  break  up  your 
hard  hearts,  that  his  word  may  abide  in  you. 

We  have  not,  however,  completed  the  picture.  The 
passage  tells  us  that  the  fowls  of  the  air  devoured  the 
seed.  Is  there  here  a  wayside  hearer  ?  Perhaps  he  did 
not  mean  to  hear  this  sermon,  and  when  he  has  heard  it 
he  will  be  asked  by  one  of  the  wicked  to  come  into  com- 
pany. He  will  go  with  the  tempter,  and  the  good  seed 
will  be  devoured  by  the  fowls  of  the  air.  Plenty  of  evil 
ones  are  ready  to  take  away  the  gospel  from  the  heart. 
The  devil  himself,  that  prince  of  the  air,  is  eager  at  any 
time  to  snatch  away  a  good  thought.  And  then  the 
devil  is  not  alone — he  has  legions  of  helpers.  He  can 


THE   PARABLE   OF    THE   SOWER.  top 

set  a  man's  wife,  children,  friends,  enemies,  customers, 
or  creditors,  to  eat  up  the  good  seed,  and  they  will  do 
it  effectually.  Oh,  sorrow  upon  sorrow,  that  heavenly 
seed  should  become  devil's  meat  ;  that  God's  corn 
should  feed  foul  birds  ! 

O  my  hearers,  if  you  have  heard  the  gospel  from 
your  youth,  what  wagon-loads  of  sermons  have  been 
wasted  on  you  !  In  your  younger  days,  you  heard  old 
Dr.  So-and-so,  and  the  dear  old  man  was  wont  to  pray 
for  his  hearers  till  his  eyes  were  red  with  tears  !  Do 
you  recollect  those  many  Sundays  when  you  said  to 
yourself,  "  Let  me  go  to  my  chamber  and  fall  on  my 
knees  and  pray  "  ?  But  you  did  not ;  the  fowls  of  the 
air  ate  up  the  seed,  and  you  went  on  to  sin  as  you  had 
sinned  before.  Since  then,  by  some  strange  impulse, 
you' are  very  rarely  absent  from  God's  house  ;  but  now 
the  seed  of  the  gospel  falls  into  your  soul  as  if  it 
dropped  upon  an  iron  floor,  and  nothing  comes  of  it. 
The  law  may  be  thundered  at  you  ;  you  do  not  sneer  at 
it,  but  it  never  affects  you.  Jesus  Christ  may  be  lifted 
up  ;  his  dear  wounds  may  be  exhibited  ;  his  streaming 
blood  may  flow  before  your  very  eyes,  and  you  may  be 
bidden  with  all  earnestness  to  look  to  him  and  live  ; 
but  it  is  as  if  one  should  sow  the  sea-shore.  What  shall 
I  do  for  you  ?  Shall  I  stand  here  and  rain  tears  upon 
this  hard  highway  ?  Alas  !  my  tears  will  not  break  it 
up  ;  it  is  trodden  too  hard  for  that.  Shall  I  bring  the 
gospel  plough  ?  Alas  !  the  ploughshare  will  not  enter 
ground  so  solid.  What  shall  we  do  ?  O  God,  thou 
knowest  how  to  melt  the  hardest  heart  with  the  precious 
blood  of  Jesus.  Do  it  now,  we  beseech  thee,  and  thus 
magnify  thy  grace,  by  causing  the  good  seed  to  live,  and 
to  produce  a  heavenly  harvest. 


110  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

II.  I  shall  now  turn  to  the  second  class  of  hearers: 
•'  And  some  fell  upon  a  ROCK  ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was 
sprung  up,  it  withered  away,  because  it  lacked  moist- 
ure. "  You  can  easily  picture  to  yourselves  that  piece 
of  rock  in  the  midst  of  the  field  thinly  veiled  with  soil  ; 
and  of  course  the  seed  falls  there  as  it  does  everywhere 
else.  It  springs  up,  it  hastens  to  grow,  it  withers,  it 
dies.  None  but  those  who  love  the  souls  of  men  can 
tell  what  hopes,  what  joys,  and  what  bitter  disappoint- 
ments these  stony  places  have  caused  us.  We  have  a 
class  of  hearers  whose  hearts  are  hard,  and  yet  they  are 
apparently  the  softest  and  most  impressible  of  men. 
While  other  men  see  nothing  in  the  sermon,  these  men 
weep.  Whether  you  preach  the  terrors  of  the  law  or 
the  love  of  Calvary,  they  are  alike  stirred  in  their  souls, 
and  the  liveliest  impressions  are  apparently  produced. 
Such  may  be  listening  now.  They  have  resolved,  but 
they  have  procrastinated.  They  are  not  the  sturdy  ene- 
mies of  God  who  clothe  themselves  in  steel,  but  they 
seem  to  bare  their  breasts,  and  lay  them  open  to  the 
minister.  Rejoiced  in  heart,  we  shoot  our  arrows  there, 
and  they  appear  to  penetrate  ;  but,  alas,  a  secret  armor 
blunts  every  dart,  and  no  wound  is  felt.  The  parable 
speaks  of  this  character  thus:  "  Some  fell  upon  stony 
places,  where  they  had  not  much  earth  :  and  forthwith 
they  sprung  up,  because  they  had  no  deepness  of  earth." 
Or  as  another  passage  explains  it  :  "And  these  are 
they  likewise  which  are  sown  on  stony  ground  ;  who, 
when  they  have  heard  the  word,  immediately  receive  it 
with  gladness  ;  and  have  no  root  in  themselves,  and  so 
endure  but  for  a  time  :  afterward,  when  affliction  or 
persecution  ariseth  for  the  word's  sake,  immediately 
they  are  offended."  Have  we  not  thousands  of  hearers 


THE   PARABLE   OF   THE   SOWER.  Ill 

who  receive  the  word  with  joy  ?  They  have  no  deep 
convictions,  but  they  leap  into  Christ  on  a  sudden,  and 
profess  an  instantaneous  faith  in  him,  and  that  faith  has 
all  the  appearance  of  being  genuine.  When  we  look  at 
it,  the  seed  has  really  sprouted.  There  is  a  kind  of  life 
in  it,  there  is  apparently  a  green  blade.  We  thank  God 
that  a  sinner  is  brought  back,  a  soul  is  born  to  God. 
But  our  joy  is  premature  ;  they  sprang  up  on  a  sudden, 
and  received  the  word  with  joy,  because  they  had  no 
depth  of  earth,  and  the  self-same  cause  which  hastened 
their  reception  of  the  seed  also  causes  them,  when  the 
sun  is  risen  with  his  fervent  heat,  to  wither  away. 
These  men  we  see  every  day  in  the  week.  They  come 
to  join  the  church  ;  they  tell  us  a  story  of  how  they 
heard  us  preach  on  such-and-such  an  occasion,  and,  oh, 
the  word  was  so  blessed  to  them,  they  never  felt  so 
happy  in  their  lives  !  "  Oh,  sir,  I  thought  I  must  leap 
from  my  seat  when  I  heard  about  a  precious  Christ,  and 
I  believed  on  him  there  and  then  ;  I  am  sure  I  did." 
We  question  them  as  to  whether  they  were  ever  con- 
vinced of  sin.  They  think  they  were  ;  but  one  thing 
they  know,  they  feel  a  great  pleasure  in  religion.  We 
put  it  to  them.  "  Do  you  think  you  will  hold  on  ?" 
They  are  confident  that  they  shall.  They  hate  the 
things  they  once  loved,  they  are  sure  they  do.  Every- 
thing has  become  new  to  them.  And  all  this  is  on  a 
sudden.  We  enquire  when  the  good  work  began.  We 
find  it  began  when  it  ended,  that  is  to  say,  there  was  no 
previous  work,  no  ploughing  of  the  soil,  but  on  a  sud- 
den they  sprang  from  death  to  life,  as  if  a  field  should 
be  covered  with  wheat  by  magic.  Perhaps  we  receive 
them  into  the  church  ;  but  in  a  week  or  two  they  are 
not  so  regular  as  they  used  to  be.  We  gently  reprove 


112  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

them,  and  they  explain  that  they  meet  with  such  oppo- 
sition in  religion  that  they  are  obliged  to  yield  a  little. 
Another  month  and  we  lose  them  altogether.  The  rea- 
son is  that  they  have  been  laughed  at  or  exposed  to  a 
little  opposition,  and  they  have  gone  back.  And  what, 
think  you,  are  the  feelings  of  the  minister?  He  is  like 
the  husbandman,  who  sees  his  field  all  green  and  flour- 
ishing, but  at  night  a  frost  nips  every  shoot,  and  his 
hoped-for  gains  are  gone.  The  minister  goes  to  his 
chamber,  and  casts  himself  on  his  face  before  God,  and 
cries,  "  I  have  been  deceived  ;  my  converts  are  fickle, 
their  religion  has  withered  as  the  green  herb."  In  the 
ancient  story  Orpheus  is  said  to  have  had  such  skill 
upon  the  lyre,  that  he  made  the  oaks  and  stones  to 
dance  around  him.  It  is  a  poetical  fiction,  and  yet  hath 
it  sometimes  happened  to  the  minister,  that  not  only 
have  the  godly  rejoiced,  but  men,  like  oaks  and  stones, 
have  danced  from  their  places.  Alas  !  they  have  been 
oaks  and  stones  still.  Hushed  is  the  lyre.  The  oak 
returns  to  its  rooting-place,  and  the  stone  casts  itself 
heavily  to  the  earth.  The  sinner,  who,  like  Saul,  was 
among  the  prophets,  goes  back  to  plan  mischief  against 
the  Most  High. 

If  it  is  bad  to  be  a  wayside  hearer,  I  cannot  think  it 
is  much  better  to  be  like  the  rock.  This  second  class  of 
hearers  certainly  gives  us  more  joy  than  the  first.  A 
certain  company  always  comes  round  a  new  minister  ; 
and  I  have  often  thought  it  is  an  act  of  God's  kindness 
that  he  allows  these  people  to  gather  at  the  first,  while 
the  minister  is  young,  and  has  but  few  to  stand  by  him; 
these  persons  are  easily  moved,  and  if  the  minister 
preaches  earnestly  they  feel  it,  and  they  love  him,  and 
rally  round  him,  much  to  his  comfort.  But  time,  that 


THE    PARABLE    OF    THE    SOWER.  113 

proves  all  things,  proves  them.  They  seemed  to  be 
made  of  true  metal  ;  but  when  they  are  put  into  the 
fire  to  be  tested,  they  are  consumed  in  the  furnace. 
Some  of  the  shallow  kind  are  here  now.  I  have  looked 
at  you  when  I  have  been  preaching,  and  I  have  often 
thought,  "  That  man  one  of  these  days  will  come  out 
from  the  world,  I  am  sure  he  will."  I  have  thanked 
God  for  him.  Alas,  he  is  the  same  as  ever.  Years  and 
years  have  we  sowed  him  in  vain,  and  it  is  to  be  feared 
it  will  be  so  to  the  end,  for  he  is  without  depth,  and 
without  the  moisture  of  the  Spirit.  Shall  it  be  so  ? 
Must  I  stand  over  the  mouth  of  your  open  sepulchre, 
and  think,  "  Here  lies  a  shoot  which  never  became  an 
ear,  a  man  in  whom  grace  struggled  but  never  reigned, 
who  gave  some  hopeful  spasms  of  life  and  then  subsided 
into  eternal  death  ?"  God  save  you  !  Oh  !  may  the 
Spirit  deal  with  you  effectually,  and  may  you,  even 
you,  yet  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God,  that  Jesus  may 
have  a  reward  for  his  sufferings. 

III.  •  I  shall  briefly  treat  of  the  third  class,  and  may 
the  Spirit  of  God  assist  me  to  deal  faithfully  with  you. 
"  And  some  fell  among  THORNS  ;  and  the  thorns  sprang 
up  with  it,  and  choked  it."  Now,  this  was  good  soil. 
The  two  first  characters  were  bad  ;  the  wayside  was  not 
the  proper  place,  the  rock  was  not  a  congenial  Situation 
for  the  growth  of  any  plant  ;  but  this  is  good  soil,  for 
it  grows  thorns.  Wherever  a  thistle  will  spring  up  and 
flourish,  there  would  wheat  flourish  too.  This  was  fat, 
fertile  soil  ;  it  was  no  marvel  therefore  that  the  husband- 
man dealt  largely  there,  and  threw  handful  after  hand- 
ful upon  that  corner  of  the  field.  See  how  happy  he 
is  when  in  a  month  or  two  he  visits  the  spot.  The  seed 


114  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

has  sprung  up.  True,  there's  a  suspicious  little  plant 
down  there  of  about  the  same  size  as  the  wheat.  "  Oh  !" 
he  thinks,  "  that's  not  much,  the  corn  will  outgrow  that. 
When  it  is  stronger  it  will  choke  these  few  thistles  that 
have  unfortunately  mixed  with  it."  Ay,  Mr.  Husband- 
man, you  do  not  understand  the  force  of  evil,  or  you 
would  not  thus  dream  !  He  comes  again,  and  the  seed 
has  grown,  there  is  even  the  corn  in  the  ear  ;  but  the 
thistles,  the  thorns,  and  the  briers  have  become  inter- 
twisted with  one  another,  and  the  poor  wheat  can  hard- 
ly get  a  ray  of  sunshine.  It  is  so  choked  with  thorns 
every  way,  that  it  looks  quite  yellow  ;  the  plant  is 
starved.  Still  it  perseveres  in  growing,  and  it  does  seem 
as  if  it  would  bring  forth  a  little  fruit.  Alas,  it  never 
comes  to  anything.  With  it  the  reaper  never  fills  his  arm. 
We  have  this  class  very  largely  among  us.  These 
hear  the  word  and  understand  what  they  hear.  They 
take  the  truth  'home  ;  they  think  it  over  ;  they  even  go 
the  length  of  making  a  profession  of  religion.  The 
wheat  seems  to  spring  and  ear  ;  it  will  soon  come  to 
perfection.  Be  in  no  hurry,  these  men  and  women  have 
a  great  deal  to  see  after  ;  they  have  the  cares  of  a  large 
concern  ;  their  establishment  employs  so  many  hundred 
hands  ;  do  not  be  deceived  as  to  their  godliness — they 
have  no  time  for  it.  They  will  tell  you  that  they  must 
live  ;  that  they  cannot  neglect  this  world  ;  that  they 
must  anyhow  look  out  for  the  present,  and  as  for  the 
future,  they  will  render  it  all  due  attention  by-and-by. 
They  continue  to  attend  gospel-preaching,  and  the  poor 
little  stunted  blade  of  religion  keeps  on  growing  after  a 
fashion.  Meanwhile  they  have  grown  rich,  they  come 
to  the  place  of  worship  in  a  carriage,  they  have  all  that 
heart  can  wish.  Ah  !  now  the  seed  will  grow,  will  it 


THE   PARABLE   OF   THE   SOWER.  v       11$ 

not  ?  No,  no.  They  have  no  cares  now  ;  the  shop  is 
given  up,  they  live  in  the  country  ;  they  have  not  to 
ask,  "  Whe*-e  shall  the  money  come  from  to  meet  the 
next  bill  ?  or  "  how  shall  they  be  able  to  provide  for 
an  increasing  family."  Now  they  have  too  much  in- 
stead of  too  little,  for  they  have  riches,  and  they  are  too 
wealthy  to  be  gracious.  "  But,"  says  one,  "  they  might 
spend  their  riches  for  God."  Certainly  they  might,  but 
they  do  not,  for  riches  are  deceitful.  They  have  to 
entertain  much  company,  and  chime  in  with  the  world, 
and  so  Christ  and  his  church  are  left  in  the  lurch. 

Yes,  but  they  begin  to  spend  their  riches,  and  they 
have  surely  got  over  that  difficulty,  for  they  give  largely 
to  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  they  are  munificent  in 
charity  ;  the  little  blade  will  grow,  will  it  not  ?  No,  for 
now  behold  the  thorns  of  pleasure.  Their  liberality  to 
others  involves  liberality  to  themselves  ;  their  pleasures, 
amusements,  and  vanities  choke  the  wheat  of  true  re- 
ligion ;  the  good  grains  of  gospel  truth  cannot  grow  be- 
cause they  have  to  attend  that  musical  party,  that  ball, 
and  that  soiree,  and  so  they  cannot  think  of  the  things 
of  God.  I  know  several  specimens  of  this  class.  I  knew 
one,  high  in  court  circles,  who  has  confessed  to  me  that 
he  wished  he  were  poor,  for  then  he  might  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  He  has  said  to  me,  "  Ah  !  sir,  these 
politics,  these  politics,  I  wish  I  were  rid  of  them,  they 
are  eating  the  life  out  of  my  heart.  I  cannot  serve  God 
as  I  would."  I  know  of  another,  overloaded  with  riches, 
who  has  said  to  me,  "  Ah  !  sir,  it  is  an  awful  thing  to  be 
rich  ;  one  cannot  keep  close  to  the  Saviour  with  all  this 
earth  about  him." 

Ah  !  my  dear  readers,  I  will  not  ask  for  you  that  God 
may  lay  you  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  that  he  may  strip  you 


Jl6  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

of  all  your  wealth,  and  bring  you  to  beggary  ;  but,  oh, 
if  he  were  to  do  it,  and  you  were  to  save  your  souls,  it 
would  be  the  best  bargain  you  could  ever  make.  If 
those  mighty  ones  who  now  complain  that  the  thorns 
choke  the  seed  could  give  up  all  their  riches  and  pleas- 
ures, if  they  that  fare  sumptuously  every  day  could  take 
the  place  of  Lazarus  at  the  gate,  it  were  a  happy  change 
for  them  if  their  souls  might  be  saved.  A  man  may  be 
honorable  and  rich,  and  yet  go  to  heaven  ;  but  it  will  be 
hard  work,  for  "  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through 
the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  God  does  make  some  rich 
men  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  hard  is  their 
struggle.  Steady,  young  man,  steady  !  Hurry  not  to 
climb  to  wealth  !  It  is  a  place  where  many  heads  are 
turned  Do  not  ask  God  to  make  you  popular  ;  they 
that  have  popularity  are  wearied  by  it.  Cry  with  Agur, 
"  Give  me  neither  poverty  nor  riches."  God  give 
me  to  tread  the  golden  mean,  and  may  I  ever  have  in 
my  heart  that  good  seed,  which  shall  bring  forth  fruit  a 
hundredfold  to  his  own  glory. 

IV.  I  now  close  with  the  last  character,  namely, 
the  GOOD  GROUND.  Of  the  good  soil,  as  you  will  mark, 
we  have  but  one  in  four.  Will  one  in  four  of  our  hear- 
ers, with  well-prepared  heart,  receive  the  Word  ? 

The  ground  is  described  as  "good  ";  not  that  it 
was  good  by  nature,  but  it  had  been  made  good  by 
grace.  God  had  ploughed  it  ;  he  had  stirred  it  up  with 
the  plough  of  conviction,  and  there  it  lay  in  ridge  and 
furrow  as  it  should  lie.  When  the  gospel  was  preached, 
the  heart  received  it,  for  the  man  said,  "  That  is  just 
the  blessing  I  want.  Mercy  is  what  a  needy  sinner  re- 


THE    PARABLE    OF    THE    SOWER.  117 

quires."  So  that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  was  THE 
thing  to  give  comfort  to  this  disturbed  and  ploughed 
soil.  Down  fell  the  seed  to  take  good  root.  In  some 
cases  it  produced  fervency  of  love,  largeness  of  heart, 
devotedness  of  purpose  of  a  noble  kind,  like  seed  which 
produces  a  hundredfold.  The  man  became  a  mighty 
servant  for  God,  he  spent  himself  and  was  spent.  He 
took  his  place  in  the  vanguard  of  Christ's  army,  stood  in 
the  hottest  of  the  battle,  and  did  deeds  of  daring  which 
few  could  accomplish — the  seed  produced  a  hundred- 
fold. It  fell  into  another  heart  of  like  character  ;  the 
man  could  not  do  the  most,  but  still  he  did  much.  He 
gave  himself  to  God,  and  in  his  business  he  had  a  word 
to  say  for  his  Lord  ;  in  his  daily  walk  he  quietly 
adorned  the  doctrine  of  God  his  Saviour — he  brought 
forth  sixtyfold.  Then  it  fell  on  another,  whose  abilities 
and  talents  were  but  small  ;  he  could  not  be  a  star,  but 
he  would  be  a  glow-worm  ;  he  could  not  do  as  the  great- 
est, but  he  was  content  to  do  something,  however  hum- 
ble. The  seed  had  brought  forth  in  him  tenfold,  perhaps 
twentyfold.  How  many  are  there  of  this  sort  here  ?  Is 
there  one  who  prays  within  himself,  "  God  be  merciful 
to  me  a  sinner  "?  The  seed  has  fallen  in  the  right  spot. 
Soul,  thy  prayer  shall  be  heard.  God  never  sets  a  man 
longing  for  mercy  without  intending  to  give  it.  Does 
another  whisper,  "  Oh  that  I  might  be  saved  "?  Believe 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou,  even  thou,  shalt  be 
saved.  Hast  thou  been  the  chief  of  sinners  ?  Trust 
Christ,  and  thy  enormous  sins  shall  vanish  as  the  mill- 
stone sinks  beneath  the  flood.  Is  there  no  one  here  that 
will  trust  the  Saviour  ?  Can  it  be  possible  that  the 
Spirit  is  entirely  absent  ?  that  he  is  not  moving  in  one 
soul  ?  not  begetting  life  in  one  spirit  ?  We  will  pray  that 
he  may  now  descend,  that  the  word  may  not  be  in  vain. 


THE   PRINCIPAL   WHEAT. 

"  The  principal  wheat.  " — ISAIAH  28  :  25. 

THE  prophet  mentions  it  as  a  matter  of  wisdom  on 
the  part  of  the  husbandman,  that  HE  KNOWS  WHAT  is  THE 
PRINCIPAL  THING  TO  CULTIVATE,  and  makes  it  his  princi- 
pal care.  The  text,  with  the  connection,  runs  thus  : 
"Does  not  the  husbandman  cast  in  the  principal 
wheat  ?"  He  does  not  go  to  the  granary  and  take  out 
wheat,  and  cummin,  and  barley,  and  rye,  and  fling  these 
about  right  and  left,  but  he  estimates  the  value  of  each 
grain,  and  arranges  them  in  his  mind  accordingly.  He 
does  not  think  that  cummin  and  caraway,  which  he 
merely  grows  to  give  a  flavor  to  his  meal,  are  of  half 
such  importance  as  his  bread-corn  ;  and,  though  rye 
and  barley  have  their  values,  yet  he  does  not  reckon  that 
even  these  are  equal  to  what  he  calls  "  the  principal 
wheat."  He  is  a  man  of  discretion,  he  arranges  things; 
he  places  the  most  important  crop  in  the  front  rank, 
and  spends  upon  it  the  most  care. 

Here  let  us  learn  a  lesson.  Do  keep  things  distinct 
in  your  minds — not  huddled  and  muddled  by  a  careless 
thoughtlessness.  Do  not  live  a  confused  life,  without 
care  and  discretion,  running  all  things  into  one  ;  but 
sort  things  out,  and  divide  and  distinguish  between  the 
precious  and  the  vile.  See  what  this  is  worth,  and  what 
the  other  is  worth,  and  set  your  matters  in  rank  and 


THE    PRINCIPAL    WHEAT.  1 1 9 

order,  making  some  of  them  principal,  and  others  of 
them  inferior.  I  suggest  to  you  young  people  especial- 
ly that,  in  starting  life,  you  say  to  yourselves,  "  What 
shall  we  live  for  ?  There  is  a  principal  thing  for  which 
we  ought  to  live,  what  shall  it  be  ?"  Have  you  turned 
over  that  question,  or  have  you  gone  at  it  hit  or  miss  ? 
What  are  you  living  for  ?  What  is  your  principal  aim  ? 
Is  it  going  to  be  that  of  the  old  gentleman  in  Horace 
who  said  to  his  boy,  "  Get  money  :  get  it  honestly,  if 
you  can  ;  but,  by  all  means,  get  money."  Will' you  be 
a  money-spinner  ?  Shall  coin  be  your  principal  corn  ? 
Or  will  you  choose  a  life  of  pleasure — "  a  short  life  and 
a  merry  one,"  as  so  many  fools  have  said  to  their  great 
sorrow  ?  Is  it  in  dissipation  that  your  life  is  to  be 
spent  ?  Are  thistles  to  be  your  principal  crop  ?  Be- 
cause there  is  a  pleasure  in  looking  at  a  Scotch  thistle, 
do  you  intend  to  grow  acres  of  pleasurable  vice  ?  And 
will  you  make  your  bed  upon  them  when  you  come  to 
die  ?  Search  and  see  what  is  worthy  of  being  the  prin- 
cipal object  in  life  ;  and,  when  you  have  found  it  out, 
then  beseech  the  Holy  Spirit  to  help  you  to  choose  that 
one  thing,  and  to  give  all  your  powers  and  faculties  to 
the  cultivation  of  it.  The  farmer,  who  finds  that  wheat 
ought  to  be  his  principal  crop,  makes  it  so,  and  lays 
himself  out  with  that  end  in  view  ;  learn  from  this  to 
have  a  main  object,  and  to  give  your  whole  mind  to  it. 

This  farmer  was  wise,  because  he  counted  that  to  be 
principal  which  was  the  most  needful .  His  family  could  do 
without  cummin,  which  was  but  a  flavoring.  Perhaps 
the  mistress  might  complain,  or  the  cook  might  grum- 
ble, but  that  did  not  signify  so  much  as  it  would  do  if 
the  children  cried  for  bread.  They  certainly  must  have 
wheat,  for  bread  is  the  staff  of  life.  It  is  bread  that 


I2O  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

strengtheneth  man's  heart,  and  therefore  the  farmer 
must  grow  wheat  if  he  does  not  grow  anything  else. 
That  which  is  necessary  he  regarded  as  the  principal 
thing.  Is  not  this  common  sense  ?  If  we  were  wisely 
to  sit  down  and  estimate,  should  we  not  say,  "  To  be 
forgiven  my  sins,  to  be  right  with  God,  to  be  holy,  to 
be  fit  to  live  eternally  in  heaven,  is  the  greatest,  the 
most  needful  thing  for  me,  and  therefore  I  will  make  it 
the  principal  object  of  my  pursuit"?  A  creature  cannot 
be  satisfied  unless  he  is  answering  the  end  for  which  he 
is  created  ;  and  the  end  of  every  intelligent  creature  is 
first,  to  glorify  God,  and  next,  to  enjoy  God.  What  a 
bliss  it  must  be  to  enjoy  God  himself  for  ever  and  ever! 
Other  things  may  be  desirable,  but  this  thing  is  need- 
ful. A  competence  of  income,  a  measure  of  esteem 
among  men,  a  degree  of  health — all  these  are  the  flavor- 
ing of  life,  but  to  be  saved  in  the  Lord  with  an  everlast- 
ing salvation  is  life  itself.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  bread  A:y 
which  our  soul's  best  life  is  sustained.  Oh,  that  we 
were  all  wise  enough  to  feel  that  to  be  one  with  Christ 
is  the  one  thing  needful  ;  that  to  be  at  peace  with  God 
is  the  principal  thing  ;  that  to  be  brought  into  harmony 
with  the  Most  High  is  the  true  music  of  our  being. 
Other  herbs  may  take  their  place  in  due  order,  but 
grace  is  the  principal  wheat,  and  \ve  must  cultivate  it. 

This  farmer  was  wise,  because  he  made  that  to  be  the 
principal  thing  which  was  the  most  fit  to  be  so.  Of  course, 
barley  is  useful  as  food,  for  nations  have  lived  on  barley 
bread,  and  lived  healthily  too  ;  and  rye  has  been  the 
nutriment  of  millions  ;  neither  have  they  starved  on 
oats  and  other  grains.  Still,  give  me  a  piece  of  wheat- 
en  bread,  for  it  is  the  best  staff  for  life's  journey.  This 
farmer  knew  that  wheat  was  the  most  fitting  food  for 


THE    PRINCIPAL    WHEAT.  121 

man,  and  so  he  did  not  put  the  inferior  grain,  which 
might  act  as  a  substitute,,  into  the  prominent  place  ;  but 
he  gave  his  wheat  the  preference.  He  did  not  say, 
"  the  principal  barley,"  or  "  the  principal  rye,"  much 
less  "the  principal  cummin,"  or  "the  principal 
fitches,"  but  "  the  principal  wheat." 

And  what  is  there,  brethren,  that  is  so  fit  for  the 
heart,  the  mind,  the  soul  of  man,  as  to  know  God  and 
his  Christ  ?  Other  mental  foods,  such  as  the  fruits  of 
knowledge,  and  the  dainties  of  science,  excellent 
though  they  may  be — are  inferior  nutriment  and  unsuit- 
able to  build  up  the  inner  manhood.  In  my  God  and 
my  Saviour,  I  find  my  heaven  and  my  all.  My  soul  sits 
down  to  a  crumb  of  truth  about  Jesus,  and  finds  great 
satisfaction  in  living  upon  it.  The  more  we  can  know 
God,  and  enjoy  God,  and  become  like  to  God,  and  the 
more  Christ  is  our  daily  bread,  the  more  do  we  perceive 
the  fitness  of  all  this  to  our  new-born  natures.  O  be- 
loved, make  that  to  be  your  principal  object  which  is 
the  fittest  pursuit  of  an  immortal  mind. 

"  Religion  is  the  chief  concern 

Of  mortals  here  below  ; 
May  I  its  great  importance  learn, 
Its  sovereign  virtue  know  ! 

"  More  needful  this  than  glittering  wealth, 

Or  aught  the  world  bestows  : 
Not  reputation,  food,  or  health, 
Can  give  us  such  repose." 

Moreover,  this  farmer  was  wise,  because  he  made 
that  the  principal  thing  which  was  the  most  profitable.  Under 
certain  circumstances,  in  our  own  country,  wheat  is  not 
the  most  profitable  thing  which  a  man  can  grow  ;  but, 
ordinarily,  it  is  the  best  crop  that  the  earth  yields,  and 


122  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

therefore  the  text  speaks  of  "  the  principal  wheat." 
Our  grandfathers  used  to  rely  upon  the  wheat  stack  to 
pay  their  rent.  They  looked  to  their  corn  as  the  arm 
of  their  strength  ;  and  though  it  is  not  so  now,  it  always 
was  so  of  old,  and  perhaps  it  may  yet  be  so  again. 
Anyhow,  the  figure  holds  good  with  regard  to  true  re- 
ligion. That  is  the  most  profitable  thing.  I  am  told 
that  rich  men  find  it  very  hard  to  get  hold  of  anything 
which  yields  five  per  cent,  nowadays  ;  but  this  blessed 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  an  extraordinarily  profitable  invest- 
ment, for  it  does  not  yield  a  hundred  per  cent,  or  a 
thousand  per  cent,  but  a  man  begins  with  nothing  and 
all  things  become  his  by  faith.  Being  freely  discharged 
of  our  sins,  we  are  by  overflowing  grace  greatly  en- 
riched, so  that  we  number  among  our  possessions  heaven 
itself,  Christ  himself,  God  himself.  All  things  are  ours. 
Oh,  what  a  blessed  crop  to  sow  !  What  a  harvest  comes 
of  it  !  Godliness  is  profitable  for  the  life  that  now  is, 
and  for  that  which  is  to  come.  Godliness  is  a  blessing 
to  a  man's  body,  it  keeps  him  from  drunkenness  and 
vice  ;  and  it  is  a  blessing  to  his  soul,  it  makes  him  sweet 
and  pure.  It  is  a  blessing  to  him  every  way.  If  I  had 
to  die  like  a  dog,  I  would  like  to  live  like  a  Christian. 
If  there  were  no  hereafter,  yet  still,  for  comfort  and  for 
joy,  give  me  the  life  of  one  who  strives  to  live  like 
Christ.  There  is  a  practical  everyday  truth  in  the 
verse — 

"  'Tis  religion  that  can  give 
Sweetest  pleasures  while  we  live ; 
'Tis  religion  must  supply 
Solid  comfort  when  we  die.  " 

Only  that  religion  must  not  be  of  the  common  sort ;  it 
must  have  for  its  root  a  hearty  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 


THE   PRINCIPAL    WHEAT.  123 

See  ye  to  it.  Our  religion  must  be  either  everything  or 
nothing,  either  first  or  nowhere.  Make  it  "  the  principal 
wheat,"  and  it  will  richly  repay  you. 

II.  Secondly,  the  husbandman  is  a  lesson  to  us 
because  HE  GIVES  THIS  PRINCIPAL  THING  THE  PRINCIPAL 
PLACE.  I  find  that  the  Hebrew  is  rendered  by  some 
eminent  scholars,  "  He  puts  the  wheat  into  the  principal 
place."  That  little  handful  of  cummin  for  the  wife  to 
flavor  the  cakes  with  he  grows  in  a  corner  ;  and  the 
various  herbs  he  places  in  their  proper  borders.  The 
barley  he  sets  in  its  plot,  and  the  rye  in  its  acre  ;  but 
if  there  is  a  good  bit  of  rich  soil — the  best  he  has — he 
appropriates  it  to  the  principal  wheat.  He  gives  his 
choicest  fields  to  that  which  is  to  be  the  main  means  of 
his  living. 

Now,  here  is  a  lesson  for  you  and  for  me.  Let  us 
give  to  true  godliness  our  principal  powers  and  abili- 
ties. Let  us  give  to  the  things  of  God  our  best  and 
most  intense  thought.  I  pray  you,  do  not  take  religion  at 
second  hand  from  what  I  tell  you,  or  from  what  some- 
body else  tells  you  ;  but  think  it  over.  Read,  mark, 
learn,  and  inwardly  digest  the  word  of  God.  The 
thoughtful  Christian  is  the  growing  Christian.  Re- 
member, the  service  of  God  deserves  our  first  considera- 
tion and  endeavor.  We  are  poor  things  at  our  prime, 
but  we  ought  to  give  the  Lord  nothing  short  of  our 
best.  God  would  not  have  us  serve  him  heedlessly,  but 
he  would  have  us  use  all  the  brain  and  intellect  and 
mind  that  we  have  in  studying  and  practising  his  word. 
"Acquaint  now  thyself  with  him,  and  be  at  peace." 
"  Meditate  upon  these  things.  Give  thyself  wholly  to 
them."  If  your  mind  is  more  clear  and  active  at  one 


124  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

time  than  at  another,  then  sow  the  principal  wheat.  If 
you  feel  more  fresh  and  more  inclined  to  think  at  one 
time  of  the  day  than  at  another,  let  your  mind  then  go 
towards  the  best  things. 

Be  sure,  also,  to  yield  to  this  subject  your  most  earnest 
love.  The  best  field  in  the  little  estate  of  manhood  is 
not  the  head,  but  the  heart  ;  sow  the  principal  wheat 
there.  Oh,  to  have  true  religion  in  the  heart  ;  to  love 
what  we  know — intensely  to  love  it  ;  to  hold  it  fast  as 
with  the  grip  of  life  and  death — never  to  let  it  go  !  The 
Lord  says,  "  My  son,  give  me  thy  heart,"  and  he  will 
not  be  contented  with  anything  less  than  our  heart. 
Oh,  when  your  zeal  is  most  burning,  and  your  love  is 
most  fervent,  let  the  warmth  and  the  fervency  all  go 
towards  the  Lord  your  God,  and  to  the  service  of  him 
who  has  redeemed  you  with  his  precious  blood.  Let 
the  principal  wheat  have  the  principal  part  of  your 
nature.  Towards  God  and  his  Christ  also  turn  your 
most  fervent  desires.  When  you  enlarge  your  desire,  de- 
sire Christ  ;  when  you  become  ambitious  let  your  am- 
bition be  all  for  God.  Let  your  hunger  and  your  thirst 
be  after  righteousness.  Let  your  aspirations  and  your 
longings  be  all  towards  holiness,  and  the  things  that 
shall  make  you  like  to  Christ.  Give  to  this  principal 
wheat  your  principal  desires. 

Then  let  the  Lord  have  the  attentive  respect  of  your  life. 
Let  the  principal  wheat  be  sown  in  every  action.  If  we 
are  truly  Christians  we  must  be  as  much  Christians  out 
side  the  church  as  in  it.  We  shall  try  to  make  our  eat- 
ing and  our  drinking,  and  everything  we  do,  tend  to 
the  glory  of  God.  Draw  no  line  between  the  secular 
and  the  religious  part  of  your  conduct,  but  let  the  secu- 
lar be  made  religious  by  a  devout  desire  to  glorify  God 


THE    PRINCIPAL    WHEAT.  125 

in  the  one  as  much  as  in  the  other.  Let  us  worship  God 
in  the  commonest  duties  of  life,  even  as  they  do  who 
stand  before  his  throne.  So  it  ought  to  be.  Let  us  sow 
the  principal  wheat  in  all  the  fields  of  our  conversation, 
in  business,  in  the  family,  among  our  friends,  and  with 
our  children.  May  we  each  one  feel,  "  For  me  to  live  is 
Christ.  I  cannot  live  without  Christ,  or  for  anything 
but  Christ."  Let  your  whole  nature  yield  itself  to 
Jesus,  and  to  none  else. 

We  should  give  to  this  principal  wheat  our  most 
earnest  labors.  We  should  spend  ourselves  for  the  spread 
of  the  gospel.  A  Christian  man  ought  to  lay  himself 
out  to  serve  Jesus.  I  hate  to  see  a  professing  man  zeal- 
ous in  politics  and  lukewarm  in  devotion  ;  all  on  fire  at 
a  parish  vestry,  and  chill  as  winter  when  he  comes  to  a 
prayer-meeting.  Some  fly  like  eagles  when  they  are 
serving  the  world,  but  they  have  a  broken  wing  in  the 
service  of  God.  This  should  not  be.  If  anything  could 
rouse  us  up,  and  make  the  lion  within  us  roar  in  his 
strength,  it  should  be  when  we  confront  the  foes  of 
Jesus  or  fight  in  his  cause.  Our  Lord's  service  is  the 
principal  wheat,  let  us  labor  most  in  connection  with  it. 

This,  I  think,  should  also  taken  possession  of  us  so 
as  to  lead  to  our  greatest  sacrifices.  The  love  of  Christ 
ought  to  be  so  strong  as  to  swallow  up  self,  and  make 
sacrifice  our  daily  joy.  For  Christ's  name's  sake  we 
should  be  willing  to  endure  poverty,  reproach,  slander, 
exile,  death.  Nothing  should  be  dear  to  a  Christian  in 
comparison  with  Christ.  Now,  I  will  put  it  to  you 
whether  it  is  so  or  no.  Is  the  love  of  Jesus  the  principal 
wheat  with  us  ?  Are  we  giving  our  religion  the  chief 
place  or  not  ?  I  am  afraid  some  people  treat  religion 
as  certain  gentlemen  treat  an  off-hand  farm  ;  they  put 


126  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

a  bailiff  into  it,  and  only  give  an  eye  to  it  now  and  then. 
Their  minister  is  the  bailiff,  and  they  expect  him  to  see 
to  it  for  them.  These  off-hand  farms  are  losing  con- 
cerns. Look  at  these  half-and-half  brethren.  They 
have  religion  ?  Certainly.  But  they  are  like  the  man 
of  whom  the  child  spoke  at  the  Sunday-school.  "  Is 
your  father  a  Christian  ?"  said  the  teacher.  "  Yes,"  said 
the  child,  "  but  he  has  not  worked  much  at  it  lately." 
I  could  point  out  several  of  this  sort,  who  are  sowing 
their  wheat  very  sparingly,  and  choosing  the  most  bar- 
ren patch  to  sow  it  in.  They  profess  to  be  Christians, 
but  religion  is  a  tenth-rate  article  on  their  farm.  Some 
have  a  large  acreage  for  the  world,  and  a  poor  little  plot 
for  Christ.  They  are  growers  of  worldly  pleasure  and 
self-indulgence,  and  they  sow  a  little  religion  by  the 
roadside  for  appearance  sake.  This  will  not  do.  God 
will  not  thus  be  mocked.  If  we  despise  him  and  his 
truth  we  shall  be  lightly  esteemed.  O  come  let  us  give 
our  principal  time,  talent,  thought,  effort  to  that  which 
is  the  chief  concern  of  immortal  spirits.  May  we  imi- 
tate the  husbandman  who  gives  the  principal  wheat  the 
principal  place  in  his  farm. 

III.  Let  us  learn  a  third  lesson.     THE  HUSBANDMAN 

SELECTS  THE  PRINCIPAL  SEED-CORN  WHEN  HE  IS   SOWING  HIS 

WHEAT.  When  a  farmer  is  setting  aside  wheat  for  sow- 
ing, he  does  not  choose  the  tail  corn  and  the  worst  of 
his  produce,  but  if  he  is  a  sensible  man  he  likes  to  sow 
the  best  wheat  in  the  world.  Many  farmers  search  the 
country  round  for  a  good  sample  of  wheat  for  sowing, 
for  they  do  not  expect  to  get  a  good  harvest  out  of  bad 
seed.  The  husbandman  is  taught  of  God  to  put  into 
the  ground  "  the  principal  wheat,"  Let  me  learn  that 


THE   PRINCIPAL    WHEAT.  127 

if  I  am  going  to  sow  to  the  Lord  and  to  be  a  Christian, 
I  should  sow  the  best  kind  of  Christianity. 

I  should  try  to  do  this,  first,  by  believing  the  weightiest 
doctrines.  I  would  believe  not  this  "  ism,"  nor  that,  but 
the  unadulterated  truth  which  Jesus  taught  ;  for  a  holy 
character  will  only  grow  by  the  Spirit  of  God  out  of 
true  doctrine.  Falsehood  breeds  sin  :  truth  begets  and 
fosters  holiness.  You  and  I  therefore  ought  to  select 
our  seed  carefully,  and  cast  out  all  error.  If  we  are 
wise  we  shall  think  most  of  the  most  important  truths, 
for  I  have  known  people  attach  the  greatest  importance 
to  the  smallest  things.  They  fight  over  the  fitches,  and 
leave  the  wheat  to  the  crows.  As  for  me,  those  who 
will  may  dispute  over  vials  and  trumpets,  I  shall  mainly 
preach  the  doctrine  of  the  precious  blood  and  the  glori- 
ous truths  of  substitution  and  atonement.  These  doc- 
trines  are  the  principal  wheat,  and  therefore  these  shall 
have  my  choice. 

Next  to  that,  we  ought  to  sow  the  noblest  examples. 
Many  men  are  dwarfed  because  they  choose  a  bad  model 
to  start  with.  They  imitate  dear  old  Mr.  So-and-so  till 
they  grow  wonderfully  like  him  with  the  best  of  him 
left  out.  A  minister  happens  to  be  of  a  gloomy  turn  of 
mind,  and  he  preaches  the  deep  experience  of  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  and  in  consequence  a  band  of  good  people 
think  it  their  duty  to  be  melancholy.  Why  need  they 
fall  into  a  ditch  because  their  leader  has  splashed  him- 
self ?  We  should  never  copy  any  man's  infirmities.  To 
be  like  Paul  there  is  no  need  to  have  weak  eyes  ;  to  be 
like  Thomas  there  is  no  necessity  to  doubt.  If  you 
copy  any  good  man,  there  is  a  point  at  which  you 
ought  to  stop  short.  If  I  must  have  a  human  model,  I 
would  prefer  one  of  the  bravest  of  the  saints  of  God  ; 


128  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

but  oh  how  much  better  to  follow  that  perfect  pattern 
which  you  have  in  Christ  Jesus  ! 

We  should  sow  the  best  wheat  by  seeing  that  we 
have  the  purest  spirit.  Alas  !  how  soon  do  spirits  become 
soiled  by  self  or  pride,  or  despondency  or  sloth,  or 
some  earthly  taint.  But  what  a  grand  thing  it  is  to  live 
in  the  spirit  of  Christ !  May  we  be  humble,  lowly,  bold, 
self-sacrificing,  pure,  chaste,  and  holy. 

And,  then,  there  is  one  more  mode  of  sowing  select- 
ed seed.  We  should  endeavor  to  live  in  the  closest  com- 
munion with  God.  A  dear  brother  prayed  just  now  that 
we  might  have  as  much  grace  as  we  were  capable  of  re- 
ceiving, and  that  God  would  bring  us  into  such  a  state 
that  we  might  not  hinder  him  in  anything  which  he 
willed  to  do  by  us.  This  is  a  good  prayer.  It  should 
be  our  desire  to  rise  to  the  highest  form  of  spiritual  life. 
If  you  sow  this  principal  wheat,  get  the  best  sort  of  it. 
There  is  a  spirit  and  a  spirit  ;  and  there  are  doctrines 
and  doctrines  ;  the  best  is  the  best  for  you.  O  young 
men,  if  you  mean  to  have  piety,  go  in  for  it  thoroughly. 
Do  not  sneak  through  the  world  as  if  you  were  ashamed 
of  your  Lord.  If  you  are  Christ's,  show  your  colors. 
Rally  to  his  banner,  gather  to  his  trumpet  call,  and  then 
stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus.  If  there  is  any  manhood 
in  you,  this  great  cause  calls  for  it  all  ;  exhibit  it,  and 
may  the  Spirit  of  God  help  you  so  to  do. 

IV.  Fourthly,  THE  HUSBANDMAN  GROWS  THE  PRINCI- 
PAL WHEAT  WITH  THE  PRINCIPAL  CARE.  Some  critics  say 
that  the  proper  translation  is  that  the  husbandman 
plants  his  wheat  in  rows.  It  is  said  that  the  large  crops 
in  Palestine  in  olden  time  were  due  to  the  fact  that  they 
planted  the  wheat.  They  set  it  in  lines,  so  that  it  was 


THE    PRINCIPAL    WHEAT.  129 

not  checked  or  suffocated  by  its  being  too  thick  in  one 
place,  neither  was  there  any  fear  of  its  being  too  thin  in 
another.  The  wheat  was  planted,  and  then  streams  of 
water  were  turned  by  the  foot  to  each  particular  plant. 
No  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  land  brought  forth 
abundantly. 

We  should  give  our  principal  care  to  the  principal 
thing.  Our  godliness  should  be  carried  out  with  dis- 
cretion and  care.  Brethren,  are  we  careful  enough  as 
to  our  religious  walk  ?  Have  you  ever  searched  to  the 
bottom  of  your  profession  ?  Why  do  you  happen  to  be 
members  of  a  certain  church  ?  Your  mother  was  so. 
Well,  there  is  some  good  in  that  reason,  but  not  enough 
to  justify  you  in  the  sight  of  God.  I  pray  you  judge 
your  standing.  If  any  Christian  minister  is  afraid  to 
urge  you  to  this  duty,  I  stand  in  doubt  of  him.  I  am  not 
at  all  afraid.  I  beg  you  to  examine  all  that  I  teach  you, 
for  I  would  not  like  to  be  responsible  for  another  man's 
creed.  Like  the  Bereans,  search  and  see  whether  these 
things  be  according  to  Scripture  or  not.  One  of  the 
greatest  blessings  that  could  come  upon  the  church 
would  be  a  searching  spirit  which  would  refer  every- 
thing to  the  Holy  Scriptures.  If  they  speak  not  accord- 
ing to  this  word  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them. 
Do  your  service  to  God  as  carefully  as  the  eastern 
farmer  planted  his  wheat,  when  he  set  it  in  rows  with 
great  orderliness  and  exactness.  You  serve  a  precise 
God,  therefore  serve  him  precisely.  He  is  a  jealous 
God,  therefore  be  jealous  of  the  least  taint  of  error  or 
will-worship. 

Take  care,  also,  that  you  water  every  part  of  your 
religion,  as  the  farmer  watered  each  plant.  Pray  for 
grace  from  on  high  that  you  may  never  be  parched  and 


130  TALKS  TO  FARMERS. 

dried  up.  Perform  to  your  faith,  to  your  hope,  to  your 
love,  and  to  all  the  plants  that  are  in  your  soul  every 
other  service  which  the  husbandman  renders  to  his 
wheat.  Give  grace  your  principal  care,  for  it  de- 
serves it. 

V.  With  this  I  close.  Do  this,  because  FROM  THIS 
YOU  MAY  EXPECT  YOUR  PRINCIPAL  CROP.  If  religion  be 
the  principal  thing,  you  may  look  to  religion  for  your 
principal  reward.  The  harvest  will  come  to  you  in 
various  ways.  You  will  make  the  greatest  success  in 
this  life  if  you  wholly  live  to  the  glory  of  God.  Success 
or  failure  must  much  depend  upon  the  fitness  of  our 
object.  It  is  of  no  use  my  attempting  to  sing,  for  I  shall 
never  be  able  to  conduct  a  choir.  I  could  not  succeed 
in  that,  but  if  I  preach,  I  may  succeed,  for  that  is  my 
work.  Now  you,  Christian  man,  if  you  try  to  live  to 
the  world  you  will  not  prosper,  for  you  are  not  fitted 
for  it.  Grace  has  spoiled  you  for  sin.  If  you  live  to 
God  with  all  your  heart  you  will  succeed  in  it,  for  God 
has  made  you  on  purpose  for  it.  As  he  made  the  fish 
for  the  water,  and  the  birds  for  the  air,  so  he  made  the 
believer  for  holiness,  and  for  the  service  of  God  ;  and 
you  will  be  out  of  your  element,  a  fish  out  of  water,  or 
a  bird  in  the  stream,  if  you  leave  the  service  of  God. 
The  Eastern  farmer's  prosperity  hinges  on  his  wheat, 
and  yours  upon  your  devotion  to  God.  It  is  to  Godli- 
ness that  you  must  look  for  your  joy.  Is  there  any  bliss 
like  the  bliss  of  knowing  that  you  are  in  Christ,  and  are 
the  beloved  of  the  Lord  ?  It  is  to  your  religion  that 
you  must  look  for  comfort  on  a  sick  and  dying  bed,  and 
you  may  be  there  very  soon. 

In  the  world  to  come  what  a  crop,  what  a  harvest 


THE    PRINCIPAL    WHEAT.  131 

will  come  of  serving  the  Lord  !  What  will  come  out  of 
all  else  ?  What  but  mere  smoke  ?  A  man  has  made  a 
million  of  money,  and  he  is  dead.  What  has  he  got  by 
his  wealth  ?  A  man's  fame  rings  throughout  the  earth 
as  a  great  and  successful  warrior,  and  he  is  dead.  What 
has  he  as  the  result  of  all  his  honors  ?  To  live  to  the 
world  is  like  playing  with  boys  in  the  street  for  half- 
pence, or  with  babes  for  bits  of  platter  and  oyster  shells. 
Life  for  God  is  real  and  substantial,  but  all  else  is 
waste.  Let  us  think  so,  and  gird  up  our  loins  to  serve 
the  Lord.  May  the  divine  Spirit  help  us  to  sow  "  the 
principal  wheat,"  and  to  live  in  joyful  expectation  of 
reaping  a  happy  harvest  according  to  the  promise, 
"  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy." 


SPRING   IN   THE   HEART. 

"  Thou  waterest  the  ridges  thereof  abundantly  :  thou  settlest  the  furrows 
thereof  :  thou  makest  it  soft  with  showers  :  thou  blessest  the  springing  there- 
of. "—PSALM  65 :  10. 

THOUGH  other  seasons  excel  in  fulness,  spring  must 
always  bear  the  palm  for  freshness  and  beauty.  We 
thank  God  when  the  harvest  hours  draw  near,  and  the 
golden  grain  invites  the  sickle,  but  we  ought  equally  to 
thank  him  for  the  rougher  days  of  spring,  for  these  pre- 
pare the  harvest.  April  showers  are  mothers  of  the 
sweet  May  flowers,  and  the  wet  and  cold  of  winter  are 
the  parents  of  the  splendor  of  summer.  God  blesses 
the  springing  thereof,  or  else  it  could  not  be  said, 
"  Thou  crownest  the  year  with  thy  goodness."  There 
is  as  much  necessity  for  divine  benediction  in  spring  as 
for  heavenly  bounty  in  summer  ;  and,  therefore,  we 
should  praise  God  all  the  year  round. 

Spiritual  spring  is  a  very  blessed  season  in  a  church. 
Then  we  see  youthful  piety  developed,  and  on  every  hand 
we  hear  the  joyful  cry  of  those  who  say,  "  We  have 
found  the  Lord."  Our  sons  are  springing  up  as  the 
grass  and  as  willows  by  the  water-courses.  We  hold  up 
our  hands  in  glad  astonishment  and  cry,  "  Who  are 
these  that  fly  as  a  cloud  and  as  doves  to  their  win- 
dows ?"  In  the  revival  days  of  a  Church,  when  God  is 
blessing  her  with  many  conversions,  she  has  great  cause 


SPRING   IN    THE   HEART.  133 

to   rejoice  in   God   and  to  sing,   "  Thou    blessest   the 
springing  thereof." 

I  intend  to  take  the  text  in  reference  to  individual 
cases.  There  is  a  time  of  springing  of  grace,  when  it  is 
just  in  its  bud,  just  breaking  through  the  dull  cold  earth 
of  unregenerate  nature.  I  desire  to  talk  a  little  about 
that,  and  concerning  the  blessing  which  the  Lord  grants 
to  the  green  blade  of  new-born  godliness,  to  those  who 
are  beginning  to  hope  in  the  Lord. 

I.     First,   I  shall  have  a  little  to    say  about  THE 

WORK  PREVIOUS    TO  THE  SPRINGING    THEREOF. 

It  appears  from  the  text  that  there  is  work  for  God 
alone  to  do  before  the  springing  conies,  and  we  know 
that  there  is  work  for  God  to  do  through  us  as  well. 

There  is  work  for  us  to  do.  Before  there  can  be  a 
springing  up  in  the  soul  of  any,  there  must  be  plough- 
ing, harrowing,  and  sowing.  There  mu;.  be  a.  plough- 
ing, and  we  do  not  expect  that  as  soon  as  ever  we  plough 
we  shall  reap  the  sheaves.  Blessed  be  God,  in  many 
cases,  the  reaper  overtakes  the  ploughman,  but  we  must 
not  always  expect  it.  In  some  hearts  God  is  long  in 
preparing  the  soul  by  conviction  :  the  law  with  its  ten 
black  horses  drags  the  ploughshare  of  conviction  up  and 
down  the  soul  till  there  is  no  one  part  of  it  left  unfur- 
rowed.  Conviction  goes  deeper  than  any  plough  to  the 
very  core  and  centre  of  the  spirit,  till  the  spirit  is 
wounded.  The  ploughers  make  deep  furrows  indeed 
when  God  puts  his  hand  to  the  work  :  the  soil  of  the 
heart  is  broken  in  pieces  in  the  presence  of  the  Most 
High. 

Then  comes  the  smving.  Before  there  can  be  a 
springing  up  it  is  certain  that  there  must  be  something 


134  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

put  into  the  ground,  so  that  after  the  preacher  has  used 
the  plough  of  the  law,  he  applies  to  his  Master  for  the 
seed-basket  of  the  gospel.  Gospel  promises,  gospel  doc- 
trines, especially  a  clear  exposition  of  free  grace  and  the 
atonement,  these  are  the  handfuls  of  corn  which  we 
scatter  broadcast.  Some  of  the  grain  falls  on  the  high- 
way, and  is  lost  ;  but  other  handfuls  fall  where  the 
plough  has  been,  and  there  abide. 

Then  comes  the  harraiving  work.  We  do  not  expect 
to  sow  seed  and  then  leave  it  :  the  gospel  has  to  be 
prayed  over.  The  prayer  of  the  preacher  and  the 
prayer  of  the  Church  make  up  God's  harrow  to  rake  in 
the  seed  after  it  is  scattered,  and  so  it  is  covered  up 
within  the  clods  of  the  soul,  and  is  hidden  in  the  heart 
of  the  hearer. 

Now  there  is  a  reason  why  I  dwell  upon  this,  name- 
ly, that  I  may  exhort  my  dear  brethren  who  have  not 
seen  success,  not  to  give  up  the  work,  but  to  hope  that 
they  have  been  doing  the  ploughing,  and  sowing,  and 
harrowing  work,  and  that  the  harvest  is  to  come.  I 
mention  this  for  yet  another  reason,  and  that  is,  by  way 
of  warning  to  those  who  expect  to  have  a  harvest  with- 
out this  preparatory  work.  I  do  not  believe  that  much 
good  will  come  from  attempts  at  sudden  revivals  made 
without  previous  prayerful  labor.  A  revival  to  be  per- 
manent must  be  a  matter  of  growth,  and  the  result  of 
much  holy  effort,  longing,  pleading,  and  watching. 
The  servant  of  God  is  to  preach  the  gospel  whether  men 
are  prepared  for  it  or  not  ;  but  in  order  to  large  success, 
depend  upon  it  there  is  a  preparedness  necessary  among 
the  hearers.  Upon  some  hearts  warm  earnest  preach- 
ing drops  like  an  unusual  thing  which  startles  but  does 
not  convince  ;  while  in  other  congregations,  where  good 


SPRING    IN    THE    HEART.  135 

gospel  preaching  has  long  been  the  rule,  and  much 
prayer  has  been  offered,  the  words  fall  into  the  hearers' 
souls  and  bring  forth  speedy  fruit.  We  must  not  expect 
to  have  results  without  work.  There  is  no  hope  of  a 
church  having  an  extensive  revival  in  its  midst  unless 
there  is  continued  and  importunate  waiting  upon  God, 
together  with  earnest  laboring,  intense  anxiety,  and 
hopeful  expectation. 

But  there  is  also  a  work  to  be  done  which  is  beyond  out- 
power.  After  ploughing,  sowing,  and  harrowing,  there 
must  come  the  shower  from  heaven.  "  Thou  visitest 
the  earth  and  waterest  it,"  says  the  Psalmist.  In  vain 
are  all  our  efforts  unless  God  shall  bless  us  with  the 
rain  of  his  Holy  Spirit's  influence.  O  Holy  Spirit  !  thou, 
and  thou  alone,  workest  wonders  in  the  human  heart, 
and  thou  comest  from  the  Father  and  the  Son  to  do  the 
Father's  purposes,  and  to  glorify  the  Son. 

Three  effects  are  spoken  of.  First,  we  are  told  he 
waters  the  ridges.  As  the  ridges  of  the  field  become  well 
saturated  through  and  through  with  the  abundant  rain, 
so  God  sends  his  Holy  Spirit  till  the  whole  heart  of  man 
is  moved  and  influenced  by  his  divine  operations.  The 
understanding  is  enlightened,  the  conscience  is  quick- 
ened, the  will  is  controlled,  the  affections  are  inflamed  ; 
all  these  powers,  which  I  may  call  the  ridges  of  the 
heart,  come  under  the  divine  working.  It  is  ours  to 
deal  with  men  as  men,  and  bring  to  bear  upon  them 
gospel  truth,  and  to  set  before  them  motives  that  are 
suitable  to  move  rational  creatures  ;  but,  after  all,  it  is 
the  rain  from  on  high  which  alone  can  water  the  ridges: 
there  is  no  hope  of  the  heart  being  savingly  affected  ex- 
cept by  divine  operations. 

Next,   it  is  added,  "  Thou  settlest  the  furrows,"  by 


136  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

which  some  think  it  is  meant  that  the  furrows  are 
drenched  with  water.  Others  think  there  is  an  allusion 
here  to  the  beating  down  of  the  earth  by  heavy  rain  till 
the  ridges  become  flat,  and  by  the  soaking  of  the  water 
are  settled  into  a  more  compact  mass.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  influences  of  God's  Spirit  have  a  humbling  and 
settling  effect  upon  a  man.  He  was  unsettled  once  like 
the  earth  that  is  dry  and  crumbly,  and  blown  about  and 
carried  away  with  every  wind  of  doctrine  ;  but  as  the 
earth  when  soaked  with  wet  is  compacted  and  knit  to- 
gether, so  the  heart  becomes  solid  and  serious  under  the 
power  of  the  Spirit.  As  the  high  parts  of  the  ridge  are 
beaten  down  into  the  furrows,  so  the  lofty  ideas,  the 
grand  schemes,  and  carnal  boastings  of  the  heart  begin 
to  level  down,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  to  work  up- 
on the  soul.  Genuine  humility  is  a  very  gracious  fruit 
of  the  Spirit.  To  be  broken  in  heart  is  the  best  means 
of  preparing  the  soul  for  Jesus.  "  A  broken  and  a  con- 
trite heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt  not  despise."  Brethren, 
always  be  thankful  when  you  see  high  thoughts  of  man 
brought  down  ;  this  settling  the  furrows  is  a  very  gra- 
cious preparatory  work  of  grace. 

Yet  again,  it  is  added,  "  Thou  makest  it  soft  with 
showers."  Man's  heart  is  naturally  hardened  against 
the  gospel  ;  like  the  Eastern  soil,  it  is  hard  as  iron  if 
there  be  no  gracious  rain.  How  sweetly  and  effectively 
does  the  Spirit  of  God  soften  the  man  through  and 
through  !  He  is  no  longer  towards  the  Word  what  he 
used  to  be  :  he  feels  everything,  whereas  once  he  felt 
nothing.  The  rock  flows  with  water  ;  the  heart  is  dis- 
solved in  tenderness,  the  eyes  are  melted  into  tears. 

All  this  is  God's  work.  I  have  said  already  that 
God  works  through  us,  but  still  it  is  God's  immediate 


SPRING    IN    THE    HEART.  137 

work  to  send  down  the  rain  of  his  grace  from  on  high. 
Perhaps  he  is  at  work  upon  some  of  you,  though  as  yet 
there  is  no  springing  up  of  spiritual  life  in  your  souls. 
Though  your  condition  is  still  a  sad  one,  we  will  hope 
for  you  that  ere  long  there  shall  be  seen  the  living  seed 
of  grace  sending  up  its  tender  green  shoot  above  the 
soil,  and  may  the  Lord  bless  the  springing  thereof. 

II.  In  the  second  place,  let  us  deliver  A  BRIEF  DE- 
SCRIPTION OF  THE  SPRINGING  THEREOF. 

After  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  have  been 
quietly  going  on  for  a  certain  season  as  pleaseth  the 
great  Master  and  Husbandman,  then  there  are  signs  of 
grace.  Remember  the  apostle's  words,  "  First  the  blade, 
then  the  ear,  then  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  Some  of 
our  friends  are  greatly  disturbed  because  they  cannot 
see  the  full  corn  in  the  ear.  in  themselves.  They  sup- 
pose that,  if  they  were  the  subjects  of  a  divine  work, 
they  would  be  precisely  like  certain  advanced  Christians 
with  whom  it  is  their  privilege  to  commune,  or  of  whom 
they  may  have  read  in  biographies.  Beloved,  this  is  a 
very  great  mistake.  When  first  grace  enters  the  heart, 
it  is  not  a  great  tree  covering  with  its  shadow  whole 
acres,  but  it  is  the  least  of  all  seeds,  like  a  grain  of 
mustard  seed.  When  it  first  rises  upon  the  soul,  it  is 
not  the  sun  shining  at  high  noon,  but  it  is  the  first  dim 
ray  of  dawn.  Are  you  so  simple  as  to  expect  the  har- 
vest before  you  have  passed  through  the  springing- 
time  ?  I  shall  hope  that  by  a  very  brief  description  of 
the  earliest  stage  of  Christian  experience  you  may  be 
led  to  say,  "  I  have  gone  as  far  as  that,"  and  then  I 
hope  you  may  be  able  to  take  the  comfort  of  the  text  to 
yourselves  :  "  Thou  blessest  the  springing  thereof." 


138  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

What  then  is  the  springing  up  of  piety  in  the  heart? 
We  think  it  is  first  seen  in  sincerely  earnest  desires  after 
salvation.  The  man  is  not  saved,  in  his  own  apprehen- 
sion, but  he  longs  to  be.  That  which  was  once  a  mat- 
ter of  indifference  is  now  a  subject  of  intense  concern. 
Once  he  despised  Christians,  and  thought  them  need- 
lessly earnest  ;  he  thought  religion  a  mere  trifle,  and  he 
looked  upon  the  things  of  time  and  sense  as  the  only 
substantial  matters  ;  but  now  how  changed  he  is  !  He 
envies  the  meanest  Christian,  and  would  change  places 
with  the  poorest  believer  if  he  might  but  be  able  to  read 
his  title  clear  to  mansions  in  the  skies.  Now  worldly 
things  have  lost  dominion  over  him,  and  spiritual  things 
are  uppermost.  Once  with  the  unthinking  many,  he 
cried,  "  Who  will  show  us  any  good  ?"  but  now  he 
cries,  "  Lord,  lift  thou  up  the  light  of  thy  countenance 
upon  me."  Once  it  was  the  corn  and  the  wine  to  which 
he  looked  for  comfort,  but  now  he  looks  to  God  alone. 
His  rock  of  refuge  must  be  God,  for  he  finds  no  com- 
fort elsewhere.  His  holy  desires,  which  he  had  years 
ago,  were  like  smoke  from  the  chimney,  soon  blown 
away;  but  now  his  longings  are  permanent,  though  not 
always  operative  to  the  same  degree.  At  times  these 
desires  amount  to  a  hungering  and  a  thirsting  after 
righteousness,  and  yet  he  is  not  satisfied  with  these  de- 
sires, but  wishes  for  a  still  more  anxious  longing  after 
heavenly  things.  These  desires  are  among  the  first 
springings  of  divine  life  in  the  soul. 

"  The  springing  thereof "  shows  itself  next  in 
prayer.  It  is  prayer  now.  Once  it  was  the  mocking  of 
God  with  holy  sounds  unattended  by  the  heart;  but 
now,  though  the  prayer  is  such  that  he  would  not  like  a 
human  ear  to  hear  him,  yet  God  approves  it,  for  it  is 


SPRING    IN    THE    HEART.  139 

the  talking  of  a  spirit  to  a  Spirit,  and  not  the  muttering 
of  lips  to  an  unknown  God.  His  prayers,  perhaps,  are 
not  very  long  :  they  do  not  amount  to  more  than  this, 
"Oh!"  "Ah!"  "  Would  to  God  !"  "  Lord,  have 
mercy  upon  me,  a  sinner  !"  and  such-like  short  ejacula- 
tions; but,  then,  they  are  prayers.  "  Behold  he  pray- 
eth,"  does  not  refer  to  a  long  prayer;  it  is  quite  as 
sure  a  proof  of  spiritual  life  within,  if  it  only  refers  to  a 
sigh  or  to  a  tear.  These  "  groanings  that  cannot  be 
uttered,"  are  among  "  the  springings  thereof." 

There  will  also  be  manifest  a  hearty  love  for  the  means 
of  grace,  and  the  house  of  God.  The  Bible,  long  un- 
read, which  was  thought  to  be  of  little  more  use  than 
an  old  almanac,  is  now  treated  with  great  considera- 
tion ;  and  though  the  reader  finds  little  in  it  that  com- 
forts him  just  now,  and  much  that  alarms  him,  yet  he 
feels  that  it  is  the  book  for  him,  and  he  turns  to  its 
pages  with  hope.  When  he  goes  up  to  God's  house,  he 
listens  eagerly,  hoping  that  there  may  be  a  message  for 
him.  Before,  he  attended  worship  as  a  sort  of  pious 
necessity  incumbent  upon  all  respectable  people  ;  but 
now  he  goes  up  to  God's  house  that  he  may  find  the 
Saviour.  Once  there  was  no  more  religion  in  him  than 
in  the  door  which  turns  upon  its  hinges  ;  but  now  he 
enters  the  house  praying,  "  Lord,  meet  with  my  soul," 
and  if  he  gets  no  blessing,  he  goes  away  sighing,  "  O 
that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him,  that  I  might  come 
even  to  his  seat."  This  is  one  of  the  blessed  signs  of 
"  the  springing  thereof." 

Yet  more  cheering  is  another,  namely,  that  the  soul 
in  this  state  has  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  at  least  in  some 
degree.  It  is  not  a  faith  which  brings  great  joy  and 
peace,  but  still  it  is  a  faith  which  keeps  the  heart  from 


140  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

despair,  and  prevents  its  sinking  under  a  sense  of  sin. 
I  have  known  the  time  when  I  do  not  believe  any  man 
living  could  see  faith  in  me,  and  when  I  could  scarcely 
perceive  any  in  myself,  and  yet  I  was  bold  to  say,  with 
Peter,  "  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things,  thou  knowest 
that  I  love  thee."  What  man  cannot  see,  Christ  can 
see.  Many  people  have  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
but  they  are  so  much  engaged  in  looking  at  it  that  they 
do  not  see  it.  If  they  would  look  to  Christ  and  not  to 
their  own  faith,  they  would  not  only  see  Christ  but  see 
their  own  faith  too  ;  but  they  measure  their  faith,  and 
it  seems  so  little  when  they  contrast  it  with  the  faith  of 
full-grown  Christians,  that  they  fear  it  is  not  faith  at  all. 
Oh,  little  one,  if  thou  hast  faith  enough  to  receive 
Christ,  remember  the  promise,  "  To  as  many  as  received 
him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of 
God."  Poor,  simple,  weak  hearted,  and  troubled  one, 
look  to  Jesus  and  answer,  Can  such  a  Saviour  suffer  in 
vain  ?  Can  such  an  atonement  be  offered  in  vain  ? 
Canst  thou  trust  him,  and  yet  be  cast  away  ?  It  cannot 
be.  It  never  was  in  the  Saviour's  heart  to  shake  off  one 
that  did  cling  to  his  arm.  However  feeble  the  faith,  he 
blesses  "  the  springing  thereof."  The  difficulty  raises 
partly  from  misapprehension  and  partly  from  want  of 
confidence  in  God.  I  say  misapprehension  :  now  if  like 
some  Londoners  you  had  never  seen  corn  when  it  is 
green,  you  would  cry  out,  "  What  !  Do  you  say  that 
yonder  green  stuff  is  wheat  ?"  "  Yes,"  the  farmer  says, 
"  that  is  wheat."  You  look  at  it  again  and  you  reply, 
41  Why,  man  alive,  that  is  nothing  but  grass.  You  do 
not  mean  to  tell  me  that  this  grassy  stuff  will  ever  pro- 
duce a  loaf  of  bread  such  as  I  see  in  the  baker's  window; 
I  cannot  conceive  it,"  No,  you  could  not  conceive  it, 


SPRING    IN    THE   HEART.  141 

but  when  you  get  accustomed  to  it,  it  is  not  at  all  won- 
derful to  see  the  wheat  go  through  certain  stages  ;  first 
the  blade,  then  the  ear,  and  afterwards  the  full  corn  in 
the  ear.  Some  of  you  have  never  seen  growing  grace, 
and  do  not  know  anything  about  it.  When  you  are 
newly  converted  you  meet  with  Christians  who  are  like 
ripe  golden  ears,  and  you  say,  "  I  am  not  like  them." 
True,  you  are  no  more  like  them  than  that  grassy  stuff 
in  the  furrows  is  like  full-grown  wheat  ;  but  you  will 
grow  like  them  one  of  these  days.  You  must  expect  to 
go  through  the  blade  period  before  you  get  to  the  ear 
period,  and  in  the  ear  period  you  will  have  doubts 
whether  you  will  ever  come  to  the  full  corn  in  the  ear  ; 
but  you  will  arrive  at  perfection  in  due  time.  Thank 
God  that  you  are  in  Christ  at  all.  Whether  I  have  much 
faith  or  little  faith,  whether  I  can  do  much  for  Christ 
or  little  for  Christ,  is  not  the  first  question  ;  I  am  saved, 
not  on  account  of  what  I  am,  but  on  account  of  what 
Jesus  Christ  is  ;  and  if  I  am  trusting  to  him,  however 
little  in  Israel  I  may  be,  I  am  as  safe  as  the  brightest  of 
the  saints. 

I  have  said,  however,  that  mixed  with  misapprehen- 
sion there  is  a  great  deal  of  unbelief.  I  cannot  put  it 
all  down  to  an  ignorance  that  may  be  forgiven  :  for 
there  is  sinful  unbelief  too.  O  sinner,  why  do  you  not 
trust  Jesus  Christ  ?  Poor,  quickened,  awakened  con- 
science, God  gives  you  his  word  that  he  who  trusts  in 
Christ  is  not  condemned,  and  yet  you  are  afraid  that 
you  are  condemned  !  This  is  to  give  God  the  lie  !  Be 
ashamed  and  confounded  that  you  should  ever  have 
been  guilty  of  doubting  the  veracity  of  God.  All  your 
other  sins  do  not  grieve  Christ  so  much  as  the  sin  of 
thinking  that  he  is  unwilling  to  forgive  you,  or  the  sin 


142  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

of  suspecting  that  if  you  trust  him  he  will  cast  you 
away.  Do  not  slander  his  gracious  character.  Do  not 
cast  a  slur  upon  the  generosity  of  his  tender  heart.  He 
saith,  "  Him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out."  Come  in  the  faith  of  his  promise,  and  he  will 
receive  you  just  now. 

I  have  thus  given  some  description  of  "  the  spring- 
ing thereof." 

III.  Thirdly,  according  to  the  text,  THERE  is  ONE 
WHO  SEES  THIS  SPRINGING.  Thou,  Lord — thou  blessest 
the  springing  thereof. 

I  wish  that  some  of  us  had  quicker  eyes  to  see  the 
beginning  of  grace  in  the  souls  of  men  ;  for  want  of 
this  we  let  slip  many  opportunities  of  helping  the  weak- 
lings. If  a  woman  had  the  charge  of  a  number  of  chil- 
dren that  were  not  her  own,  I  do  not  suppose  she  would 
notice  all  the  incipient  stages  of  disease  ;  but  when  a 
mother  nurses  her  own  dear  children,  as  soon  as  ever 
upon  the  cheek  or  in  the  eye  there  is  a  token  of  ap- 
proaching sickness,  she  perceives  it  at  once.  I  wish  we 
had  just  as  quick  an  eye,  because  just  as  tender  a  heart, 
towards  precious  souls.  I  do  not  doubt  that  many 
young  people  are  weeks  and  even  months  in  distress, 
who  need  not  be,  if  you  who  know  the  Lord  were  a 
little  more  watchful  to  help  them  in  the  time  of  their 
sorrow.  Shepherds  are  up  all  night  at  lambing  time  to 
catch  up  the  lambs  as  soon  as  they  are  born,  and  take 
them  in  and  nurse  them  ;  and  we,  who  ought  to  be 
shepherds  for  God,  should  be  looking  out  for  all  the 
lambs,  especially  at  seasons  when  there  are  many  born 
into  God's  great  fold,  for  tender  nursing  is  wanted  in 
the  first  stages  of  the  new  life.  God,  however,  when  his 


SPRING    IN    THE   HEART.  143 

servants    do    not   see    "  the    springing  thereof,"   sees 
it  all. 

Now,  you  silent,  retired  spirits,  who  dare  not  speak 
to  father  or  mother,  or  brother  or  sister,  this  text  ought 
to  be  a  sweet  morsel  to  you.  "  Thou  blessest  the 
springing  thereof, "  which  proves  that  God  sees  you  and 
your  new-born  grace.  The  Lord  sees  the  first  sign  of 
penitence.  Though  you  only  say  to  yourself,  "  I  will 
arise  and  go  to  my  Father,"  your  Father  hears  you. 
Though  it  is  nothing  but  a  desire,  your  Father  registers 
it.  "  Thou  puttest  my  tears  into  thy  bottle.  Are  they 
not  in  thy  book?"  He  is  watching  your  return  ;  he 
runs  to  meet  you,  and  puts  his  arms  about  you,  and 
kisses  you  with  the  kisses  of  his  accepting  love.  O  soul, 
be  encouraged  with  that  thought,  that  up  in  the  cham- 
ber or  down  by  the  hedge,  or  wherever  it  is  that  thou 
hast  sought  secrecy,  God  is  there.  Dwell  on  the 
thought,  "  Thou  God  seest  me."  That  is  a  precious 
text — "  All  my  desire  is  before  thee  ;"  and  here  is 
another  sweet  one,  "  The  Lord  taketh  pleasure  in  them 
that  fear  him,  in  them  that  hope  in  his  mercy."  He 
can  see  you  when  you  only  hope  in  his  mercy,  and  he 
takes  pleasure  in  you  if  you  have  only  begun  to  fear 
him.  Here  is  a  third  choice  word,  "  Thou  wilt  perfect 
that  which  concerneth  me."  Have  you  a  concern  about 
these  things  ?  Is  it  a  matter  of  soul-concern  with  you 
to  be  reconciled  to  God,  and  to  have  an  interest  in  Jesus' 
precious  blood  ?  It  is  only  "  the  springing  thereof," 
but  he  blesses  it.  It  is  written,  "  A  bruised  reed  he  will 
not  break,  and  the  smoking  flax  he  will  not  quench,  till 
he  bring  forth  judgment  unto  victory."  There  shall  be 
victory  for  you,  even  before  the  judgment-seat  of  God, 
though  as  yet  you  are  only  like  the  flax  that  smokes  and 


144  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

gives  no  light,  or  like  the  reed  that  is  broken,  and  yields 
no  music.     God  sees  the  first  springing  of  grace. 

IV.     A  few  words  upon  a  fourth  point :  WHAT  A 

MISERY  IT   WOULD    BE,  IF  IT    WERE    POSSIBLE,  TO    HAVE    THIS 
SPRINGING  WITHOUT  GOD'S  BLESSING  ! 

The  text  says,  "  Thou  blessest  the  springing  there- 
of." We  must,  just  a  moment,  by  way  of  contrast, 
think  of  how  the  springing  would  have  been  without 
the  blessing.  Suppose  we  were  to  see  a  revival  among 
us  without  God's  blessing.  It  is  my  conviction  that 
there  are  revivals  which  are  not  of  God  at  all,  but  are 
produced  by  excitement  merely.  If  there  be  no  bless- 
ing from  the  Lord,  it  will  be  all  a  delusion,  a  bubble 
blown  up  into  the  air  for  a  moment,  and  then  gone  to 
nothing.  We  shall  only  see  the  people  stirred,  to  be- 
come the  more  dull  and  dead  afterwards  ;  and  this  is  a 
great  mischief  to  the  church. 

In  the  individual  heart,  if  there  should  be  a  spring- 
ing up  without  God's  blessing,  there  would  be  no  good 
in  it.  Suppose  you  have  good  desires,  but  no  blessing 
on  these  desires,  they  will  only  tantalize  and  worry 
you  ;  and  then,  after  a  time,  they  will  be  gone,  and  you 
will  be  more  impervious  than  you  were  before  to  relig- 
ious convictions  ;  for,  if  religious  desires  are  not  of 
God's  sending,  but  are  caused  by  excitement,  they  will 
probably  prevent  your  giving  a  serious  hearing  to  the 
Word  of  God  in  times  to  come.  If  convictions  do  not 
soften  they  will  certainly  harden.  To  what  extremities 
have  some  been  driven  who  have  had  springings  of  a 
certain  sort  which  have  not  led  them  to  Christ  !  Some 
have  been  crushed  by  despair.  They  tell  us  that 
religion  crowds  the  madhouse  :  it  is  not  true  ;  but  there 


SPRING    IN    THE    HEART.  145 

is  no  doubt  whatever  that  religiousness  of  a  certain  kind 
has  driven  many  a  man  out  of  his  mind.  The  poor 
souls  have  felt  their  wound  but  have  not  seen  the  balm. 
They  have  not  known  Jesus.  They  have  had  a  sense  of 
sin  and  nothing  more.  They  have  not  fled  for  refuge 
to  the  hope  which  God  has  set  before  them.  Marvel 
not  if  men  do  go  mad  when  they  refuse  the  Saviour. 
It  may  come  as  a  judicial  visitation  of  God  upon  those 
men  who,  when  in  great  distress  of  mind,  will  not  fly  to 
Christ.  I  believe  it  is  with  some  just  this — you  must 
either  fly  to  Jesus,  or  else  your  burden  will  become 
heavier  and  heavier  until  your  spirit  will  utterly  fail. 
This  is  not  the  fault  of  religion,  it  is  the  fault  of  those 
who  will  not  accept  the  remedy  which  religion  presents. 
A  springing  up  of  desires  without  God's  blessing  would 
be  an  awful  thing,  but  we  thank  him  that  we  are  not 
left  in  such  a  case. 

V.  And  now  I  have  to  dwell  upon  THE  COMFORTING 

THOUGHT  THAT  GOD  DOES  BLESS  "  THE  SPRINGING  THERE- 
OF." I  wish  to  deal  with  you  who  are  tender  and 
troubled  ;  I  want  to  show  that  God  does  bless  your 
springing.  He  does  it  in  many  ways. 

Frequently  he  does  it  by  the  cordials  which  he  brings. 
You  have  a  few  very  sweet  moments  :  you  cannot  say 
that  you  are  Christ's,  but  at  times  the  bells  of  your 
heart  ring  very  sweetly  at  the  mention  of  his  name. 
The  means  of  grace  are  very  precious  to  you.  When 
you  gather  to  the  Lord's  worship  you  feel  a  holy  calm, 
and  you  go  away  from  the  service  wishing  that  there 
were  seven  Sundays  in  the  week  instead  of  one.  By  the 
blessing  of  God  the  Word  has  just  suited  your  case,  as 
if  the  Lord  had  sent  his  servants  on  purpose  to  you  : 


146  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

you  lay  aside  your  crutches  for  awhile,  and  you  begin 
to  run.  Though  these  things  have  been  sadly  transient, 
they  are  tokens  for  good. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  you  have  had  none  of  these 
comforts,  or  few  of  them,  and  the  means  of  grace  have 
not  been  consolations  to  you,  I  want  you  to  look  upon 
that  as  a  blessing.  It  may  be  the  greatest  blessing  that 
God  can  give  us  to  take  away  all  comforts  on  the  road, 
in  order  to  quicken  our  running  towards  the  end.  When 
a  man  is  flying  to  the  City  of  Refuge  to  be  protected 
from  the  man-slayer,  it  may  be  an  act  of  great  consid- 
eration to  stay  him  for  a  moment  that  he  may  quench 
his  thirst  and  run  more  swiftly  afterwards  ;  but  per- 
haps, in  a  case  of  imminent  peril,  it  may  be  the  kindest 
thing  neither  to  give  him  anything  to  eat  or  to  drink, 
nor  invite  him  to  stop  for  a  moment,  in  order  that  he 
may  fly  with  undiminished  speed  to  the  place  of  safety. 
The  Lord  may  be  blessing  you  in  the  uneasiness  which 
you  feel.  Inasmuch  as  you  cannot  say  that  you  are  in 
Christ,  it  may  be  the  greatest  blessing  which  heaven  can 
give  to  take  away  every  other  blessing  from  you,  in 
order  that  you  may  be  compelled  to  fly  to  the  Lord. 
You  perhaps  have  a  little  of  your  self-righteousness  left, 
and  while  it  is  so  you  cannot  get  joy  and  comfort.  The 
royal  robe  which  Jesus  gives  will  never  shine  brilliantly 
upon  us  till  every  rag  of  our  own  goodness  is  gone. 
Perhaps  you  are  not  empty  enough,  and  God  will  never 
fill  you  with  Christ  till  you  are.  Fear  often  drives  men 
to  faith.  Have  you  never  heard  of  a  person  walking  in 
the  fields  into  whose  bosom  a  bird  has  flown  because 
pursued  by  the  hawk  ?  Poor,  timid  thing,  it  would  not 
have  ventured  there  had  not  a  greater  fear  compelled  it. 
All  this  may  be  so  with  you  ;  your  fears  may  be  sent  to 


SPRING    IN    THE    HEART.  147 

drive  you  more  swiftly  and  more  closely  to  the  Saviour, 
and  if  so,  I  see  in  these  present  sorrows  the  signs  that 
God  is  blessing  "  the  springing  thereof." 

In  looking  back  upon  my  own  "  springing"  I  some- 
times think  God  blessed  me  then  in  a  lovelier  way  than 
now.  Though  I  would  not  willingly  return  to  that  early 
stage  of  my  spiritual  life,  yet  there  were  many  joys 
about  it.  An  apple  tree  when  loaded  with  apples  is  a 
very  comely  sight  :  but  give  me,  for  beauty,  the  apple 
tree  in  bloom.  The  whole  world  does  not  present  a 
more  lovely  sight  than  an  apple  blossom.  Now,  a  full- 
grown  Christian  laden  with  fruit  is  a  comely  sight,  but 
still  there  is  a  peculiar  loveliness  about  the  young  Chris- 
tian. Let  me  tell  you  what  that  blessedness  is  ;  you  have 
probably  now  a  greater  horror  of  sin  than  professors 
who  have  known  the  Lord  for  years  ;  they  might  wish 
that  they  felt  your  tenderness  of  conscience.  You  have 
now  a  graver  sense  of  duty,  and  a  more  solemn  fear  of 
the  neglect  of  it,  than  some  who  are  further  advanced. 
You  have  also  a  greater  zeal  than  many  :  you  are  now 
doing  your  first  works  for  God,  and  burning  with  your 
first  love  ;  nothing  is  too  hot  or  too  heavy  for  you  :  I 
pray  that  you  may  never  decline,  but  always  advance. 

And  now  to  close.  I  think  there  are  three  lessons 
for  us  to  learn.  First,  let  older  saints  be  very  gentle  and  kind 
to  young  believers.  God  blesses  the  springing  thereof — 
mind  that  you  do  the  same.  Do  not  throw  cold  water 
upon  young  desires  :  do  not  snuff  out  young  believers 
with  hard  questions.  While  they  are  babes  and  need 
the  milk  of  the  Word,  do  not  be  choking  them  with 
your  strong  meat  ;  they  will  eat  strong  meat  by-and-by, 
but  not  just  yet.  Remember,  Jacob  would  not  over- 
drive the  lambs  ;  be  equally  prudent.  Teach  and  in- 


148  TALKS  TO   FARMERS. 

struct  them,  but  let  it  be  with  gentleness  and  tender- 
ness, not  as  their  superiors,  but  as  nursing  fathers  for 
Christ's  sake.  God,  you  see,  blesses  the  springing 
thereof — may  he  bless  it  through  you  ! 

The  next  thing  I  have  to  say  is,  fulfil  the  duty  of 
gratitude.  Beloved,  if  God  blesses  the  springing  thereof 
we  ought  to  be  grateful  for  a  little  grace.  If  you  have 
only  seen  the  first  shoot  peeping  up  through  the  mould 
be  thankful,  and  you  shall  see  the  green  blade  waving 
in  the  breeze  ;  be  thankful  for  the  ankle-deep  verdure 
and  you  shall  soon  see  the  commencement  of  the  ear  ; 
be  thankful  for  the  first  green  ears  and  you  shall  see 
the  flowering  of  the  wheat,  and  by-and-by  its  ripening, 
and  the  joyous  harvest. 

The  last  lesson  is  one  of  encouragement.  If  God 
blesses  "  the  springing  thereof,"  dear  beginners,  what 
will  he  not  do  for  you  in  after  days  ?  If  he  gives  you 
such  a  meal  when  you  break  your  fast,  what  dainties 
will  be  on  your  table  when  he  says  to  you,  "  Come  and 
dine  ";  and  what  a  banquet  will  he  furnish  at  the  sup- 
per of  the  Lamb  !  O  troubled  one  !  let  the  storms 
which  howl  and  the  snows  which  fall,  and  the  wintry 
blasts  that  nip  your  springing,  all  be  forgotten  in  this 
one  consoling  thought,  that  God  blesses  your  springing, 
and  whom  God  blesses  none  can  curse.  Over  your 
head,  dear,  desiring,  pleading,  languishing  soul,  the 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  pronounces  the  blessing  of 
the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  Take 
that  blessing  and  rejoice  in  it  evermore.  Amen. 


FARM  LABORERS. 

"  I  have  planted,  Apollos  watered  ;  but  God  gave  the  increase.  So  then 
neither  is  he  that  planteth  anything,  neither  he  that  watereth  ;  but  God  that 
giveth  the  increase.  Now  he  that  planteth  and  he  that  watereth  are  one  :  and 
every  man  shall  receive  his  own  reward  according  to  his  own  labor.  For  we  are 
laborers  together  with  God  :  ye  are  God's  husbandry.  " — i  CORINTHIANS  3  :  6-9. 

I  SHALL  begin  at  the  end  of  my  text,  because  I  find 
it  to  be  the  easiest  way  of  mapping  out  my  discourse. 
We  shall  first  remark  that  the  church  is  God 's  farm :  "Ye 
are  God's  husbandry."  In  the  margin  of  the  revised 
version  we  read,  "  Ye  are  God's  tilled  ground,"  and 
that  is  the  very  expression  for  me.  "  Ye  are  God's 
tilled  ground,"  or  farm.  After  we  have  spoken  of  the 
farm  we  will  next  say  a  little  upon  the  fact  that  the 
Lord  employs  laborers  on  his  estate  :  and  when  we  have 
looked  at  the  laborers — such  poor  fellows  as  they  are 
— we  will  remember  that  God  himself  is  the  great  worker  : 
"  We  are  laborers  together  with  God." 

I.  We  begin  by  considering  that  THE  CHURCH  is 
GOD'S  FARM.  The  Lord  has  made  the  church  his  own 
by  his  sovereign  choice.  He  has  also  secured  it  unto 
himself  by  purchase,  having  paid  for  it  a  price  immense. 
'  The  Lord's  portion  is  his  people  ;  Jacob  is  the  lot  of 
his  inheritance."  Every  acre  of  God's  farm  cost  the 
Saviour  a  bloody  sweat,  yea,  the  blood  of  his  heart. 
He  loved  us,  and  gave  himself  for  us  :  that  is  the  price 


150  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

he  paid.  Henceforth  the  church  is  God's  freehold,  and 
he  holds  the  title  deeds  of  it.  It  is  our  joy  to  feel  that 
we  are  not  our  own,  we  are  bought  with  a  price.  The 
church  is  God's  farm  by  choice  and  purchase. 

And  now  he  has  made  it  his  by  enclosure.  It  lay  ex- 
posed aforetime  as  part  of  an  open  common,  bare  and 
barren,  covered  with  thorns  and  thistles,  and  the  haunt 
of  every  wild  beast  ;  for  we  were  "  by  nature  the  chil- 
dren of  wrath,  even  as  others."  Divine  foreknowledge 
surveyed  the  waste,  and  electing  love  marked  out  its 
portion  with  a  full  line  of  grace,  and  thus  set  us  apart 
to  be  the  Lord's  own  estate  forever.  In  due  time  effec- 
tual grace  came  forth  with  power,  and  separated  us  from 
the  rest  of  mankind,  as  fields  are  hedged  and  ditched  to 
part  them  from  the  open  heath.  Hath  not  the  Lord  de- 
clared that  he  hath  chosen  his  vineyard  and  fenced  it  ? 

"  We  are  a  garden  wall'd  around, 
Chosen  and  made  peculiar  ground  ; 
A  little  spot,  enclosed  by  grace 
Out  of  the  world's  wide  wilderness. " 

The  Lord  has  also  made  this  farm  evidently  his  own 
by  cultivation.  What  more  could  he  have  done  for  his  farm? 
He  has  totally  changed  the  nature  of  the  soil  :  from 
being  barren  he  hath  made  it  a  fruitful  land.  He  hath 
ploughed  it,  and  digged  it,  and  fattened  it,  and  watered 
it,  and  planted  it  with  all  manner  of  flowers  and  fruits. 
It  hath  already  brought  forth  to  him  many  a  pleasant 
cluster,  and  there  are  brighter  times  to  come,  when 
angels  shall  shout  the  harvest  home,  and  Christ  "  shall 
see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied." 

This  farm  is  preserved  by  the  Lord's  continual 
protection.  Not  only  did  he  enclose  it,  and  cultivate  it  by 
his  miraculous  power,  to  make  it  his  own  farm,  but  he 


FARM    LABORERS.  J5I 

continually  maintains  possession  of  it.  "  I  the  Lord  do 
keep  it  ;  I  will  water  it  every  moment :  lest  any 
hurt  it,  I  will  keep  it  night  and  day."  If  it  were  not 
for  God's  continual  power  her  hedges  would  soon  be 
thrown  down,  and  wild  beasts  would  devour  her  fields. 
Wicked  hands  are  always  trying  to  break  down  her  walls 
and  lay  her  waste  again,  so  that  there  should  be  no  true 
church  in  the  world  ;  but  the  Lord  is  jealous  for  his  land, 
and  will  not  allow  it  to  be  destroyed.  A  church  would 
not  long  remain  a  church  if  God  did  not  preserve  it  unto 
himself.  What  if  God  should  say,  "  I  will  take  away 
the  hedge  thereof,  and  it  shall  be  eaten  up  ;  and  break 
down  the  wall  thereof,  and  it  shall  be  trodden  down"  ? 
What  a  wilderness  it  would  become.  What  saith  he  ? 
"  Go  ye  now  unto  my  place  which  was  in  Shiloh,  where 
I  set  my  name  at  the  first,  and  see  what  I  did  to  it  for 
the  wickedness  of  my  people  Israel."  Go  ye  to  Jerusa- 
lem, where  of  old  was  the  city  of  his  glory  and  the  shrine 
of  his  indwelling,  and  what  is  left  there  to-day  ?  Go  ye 
to  Rome,  where  once  Paul  preached  the  gospel  with 
power  :  what  is  it  now  but  the  centre  of  idolatry  ?  The 
Lord  may  remove  the  candlestick,  and  leave  a  place 
that  was  bright  as  day  to  become  black  as  darkness 
itself.  Hence  God's  farm  remains  a  farm  because  he  is 
ever  in  it  to  prevent  its  returning  to  its  former  wild- 
ness.  Omnipotent  power  is  as  needful  to  keep  the  fields 
of  the  church  under  cultivation  as  to  reclaim  them  at 
the  first. 

Inasmuch  as  the  church  is  God's  own  farm,  he  ex- 
pects to  receive  a  harvest  from  it.  The  world  is  waste,  and 
he  looks  for  nothing  from  it  ;  but  we  are  tilled  land,  and 
therefore  a  harvest  is  due  from  us.  Barrenness  suits  the 
moorland,  but  to  a  farm  it  would  be  a  great  discredit. 


I5«  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

Love  looks  for  returns  of  love  ;  grace  given  demands 
gracious  fruit.  Watered  with  the  drops  of  the  Saviour's 
bloody  sweat,  shall  we  not  bring  forth  a  hundredfold 
to  his  praise  ?  Kept  by  the  eternal  Spirit  of  God,  shall 
there  not  be  produced  in  us  fruits  to  his  glory  ?  The 
Lord's  husbandry  upon  us  has  shown  a  great  expen- 
diture of  cost,  and  labor,  and  thought  ;  ought  there 
not  to  be  a  proportionate  return  ?  Ought  not  the 
Lord  to  have  a  harvest  of  obedience,  a  harvest  of 
holiness,  a  harvest  of  usefulness,  a  harvest  of  praise  ? 
Shall  it  not  be  so  ?  I  think  some  churches  forget 
that  an  increase  is  expected  from  every  field  of  the 
Lord's  farm,  for  they  never  have  a  harvest  or  even  look 
for  one.  Farmers  do  not  plough  their  lands  or  sow  their 
fields  for  amusement  ;  they  mean  business,  and  plough 
and  sow  because  they  desire  a  harvest.  If  this  fact 
could  but  enter  into  the  heads  of  some  professors,  surely 
they  would  look  at  things  in  a  different  light  ;  but  of 
late  it  has  seemed  as  if  we  thought  that  God's  church 
was  not  expected  to  produce  anything,  but  existed  for 
her  own  comfort  and  personal  benefit.  Brethren,  it 
must  not  be  so  ;  the  great  Husbandman  must  have  some 
reward  for  his  husbandry.  Every  field  must  yield  its 
increase,  and  the  whole  estate  must  bring  forth  to  his 
praise.  We  join  with  the  bride  in  the  Song  in  saying, 
"  My  vineyard,  which  is  mine,  is  before  me  :  thou,  O 
Solomon,  must  have  thousand,  and  those  that  keep  the 
fruit  thereof  two  hundred." 

But  I  come  back  to  the  place  from  which  I  started. 
This  farm  is,  by  choice,  by  purchase,  by  enclosure,  by 
cultivation,  by  preservation,  entirely  the  Lord's.  See, 
then,  the  injustice  of  allowing  any  of  the  laborers  to 
call  even  a  part  of  the  estate  his  own.  When  a  great 


FARM    LABORERS.  153 

man  has  a  large  farm  of  his  own,  what  would  he  think  if 
Hodge  the  ploughman  should  say,  "  Look  here,  I  plough 
this  farm,  and  therefore  it  is  mine  :  I  shall  call  this  field 
Hodge's  Acres"  ?  "  No,"  says  Hobbs,  "  I  reaped  that 
land  last  harvest,  and  therefore  it  is  mine,  and  I  shall 
call  it  Hobbs's  Field."  What  if  all  the  other  laborers 
became  Hodgeites  and  Hobbsites,  and  so  parcelled  out 
the  farm  among  them  ?  I  think  the  landlord  would 
soon  eject  the  lot  of  them.  The  farm  belongs  to  its 
owner,  and  let  it  be  called  by  his  name  ;  but  it  is  ab- 
surd to  call  it  by  the  names  of  the  men  who  labor  upon 
it.  Shall  insignificant  nobodies  rob  God  of  his  glory  ? 
Remember  how  Paul  put  it  :  "  Who  then  is  Paul,  and 
who  is  Apollos  ?"  "Is  Christ  divided  ?  was  Paul  cruci- 
fied for  you  ?  or  were  ye  baptized  in  the  name  of  Paul  ?" 
The  entire  church  belongs  to  him  who  has  chosen  it  in 
his  sovereignty,  bought  it  with  his  blood,  fenced  it  by 
his  grace,  cultivated  it  by  his  wisdom,  and  preserved  it 
by  his  power.  There  is  but  one  church  on  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  those  who  love  the  Lord  should  keep  this  truth 
in  mind.  Paul  is  a  laborer,  Apollos  is  a  laborer,  Cephas 
is  a  laborer  ;  but  the  farm  is  not  Paul's,  not  so  much  as 
a  rood  of  it,  nor  does  a  single  parcel  of  land  belong  to 
Apollos,  or  the  smallest  allotment  to  Cephas  ;  for  "  Ye 
are  Christ's."  The  fact  is  that  in  this  case  the  laborers 
belong  to  the  land,  and  not  the  land  to  the  laborers  : 
"  For  all  things  are  yours  ;  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos, 
or  Cephas."  "  We  preach  not  ourselves,  but  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord  ;  and  ourselves  your  servants  for  Jesus' 
sake." 

II.  We  have  now  to  notice,  as  our  second  head,  that 

THE    GREAT    HUSBANDMAN    EMPLOYS  LABORERS.       By  hitman 


154  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

agency  God  ordinarily  works  out  his  designs.  He  can,  if  he 
pleases,  by  his  Holy  Spirit  get  directly  at  the  hearts  of 
men,  but  that  is  his  business,  and  not  ours  ;  we  have  to 
do  with  such  words  as  these  :  "  It  pleased  God  by  the 
foolishness  of  preaching  to  save  them  that  believe." 
The  Master's  commission  is  not,  "  Sit  still  and  see  the 
Spirit  of  God  convert  the  nations  ;"  but,  "  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creat- 
ure." Observe  God's  method  in  supplying  the  race 
with  food.  In  answer  to  the  prayer,  "  Give  us  this 
day  our  daily  bread,"  he  might  have  bidden  the  clouds 
drop  manna,  morning  by  morning,  at  each  man's 
door  ;  but  he  sees  that  it  is  for  our  good  to  work, 
and  so  he  uses  the  hands  of  the  ploughman  and  the 
sower  for  our  supply.  God  might  cultivate  his  chosen 
farm,  the  church,  by  miracle,  or  by  angels  ;  but  in  great 
condescension  he  blesses  her  through  her  own  sons  and 
daughters.  He  employs  us  for  our  own  good  ;  for 
we  who  are  laborers  in  his  fields  receive  much  more 
good  for  ourselves  than  we  bestow.  Labor  develops 
our  spiritual  muscle  and  keeps  us  in  health.  "  Unto 
me,"  says  Paul,  "  who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all 
saints,  is  this  grace  given,  that  I  should  preach  among 
the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ." 

Our  great  Master  means  that  every  laborer  on  his 
farm  should  receive  some  benefit  from  it,  for  he  never 
muzzles  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn. 
The  laborer's  daily  bread  comes  out  of  the  soil.  Though 
he  works  not  for  himself,  but  for  his  Master,  yet  still  he 
has  his  portion  of  food.  In  the  Lord's  granary  there  is 
seed  for  the  sower,  but  there  is  also  bread  for  the  eater. 
However  disinterestedly  we  may  serve  God  in  the  hus- 
bandry of  his  church,  we  are  ourselves  partakers  of  the 


FARM    LABORERS.  155 

fruit.  It  is  a  great  condescension  on  God's  part  that 
he  uses  us  at  all,  for  we  are  poor  tools  at  the  best,  and 
more  hindrance  than  help. 

The  laborers  employed  by  God  are  all  occupied  upon 
needful  work.  Notice  :  "I  have  planted,  Apollos 
watered."  Who  beat  the  big  drum,  or  blew  his  own 
trumpet  ?  Nobody.  On  God's  farm  none  are  kept  for 
ornamental  purposes.  I  have  read  some  sermons  which 
could  only  have  been  meant  for  show,  for  there  was  not 
a  grain  of  gospel  in  them.  They  were  ploughs  with 
the  share  left  out,  drills  with  no  wheat  in  the  box,  clod- 
crushers  made  of  butter.  I  do  not  believe  that  our  God 
will  ever  pay  wages  to  men  who  only  walk  about  his 
grounds  to  show  themselves.  Orators  who  display 
their  eloquence  in  the  pulpit  are  more  like  gypsies 
who  stray  on  the  farm  to  pick  up  chickens,  than  hon- 
est laborers  who  work  to  bring  forth  a  crop  for  their 
master.  Many  of  the  members  of  our  churches  live 
as  if  their  only  business  on  the  farm  was  to  pluck 
blackberries  or  gather  wild  flowers.  They  are  great  at 
finding  fault  with  other  people's  ploughing  and  mowing  ; 
but  not  a  hand's  turn  will  they  do  themselves.  Come 
on,  my  good  fellows.  Why  stand  ye  all  the  day  idle  ? 
The  harvest  is  plenteous,  and  the  laborers  are  few. 
You  who  think  yourselves  more  cultivated  than  ordinary 
people,  if  you  are  indeed  Christians,  must  not  strut 
about  and  despise  those  who  are  hard  at  work.  If  you 
do,  I  shall  say,  "  That  person  has  mistaken  his  master  ; 
he  may  probably  be  in  the  employ  of  some  gentleman 
farmer,  who  cares  more  for  show  than  profit  ;  but  our 
great  Lord  is  practical,  and  on  his  estate  his  laborers 
attend  to  needful  labor."  When  you  and  I  preach  or 
teach  it  will  be  well  if  we  say  to  ourselves,  "  What  will 


156  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

be  the  use  of  what  I  am  going  to  do  ?  I  am  about  to 
teach  a  difficult  subject  ;  will  it  do  any  good  ?  I  have 
chosen  an  abstruse  point  of  theology  ;  will  it  serve  any 
purpose  ?"  Brethren,  a  laborer  may  work  very  hard  at 
a  whim  of  his  own,  and  yet  it  may  be  all  waste  labor. 
Some  discourses  do  little  more  than  show  the  difference 
between  tweedle-^///  and  tweedle-^,  and  what  is  the 
use  of  that  ?  Suppose  we  sow  the  fields  with  sawdust, 
or  sprinkle  them  with  rose-water,  what  of  that  ?  Will 
God  bless  our  moral  essays,  and  fine  compositions,  and 
pretty  passages  ?  Brethren,  we  must  aim  at  usefulness  : 
we  must  as  laborers  together  with  God  be  occupied  with 
something  that  is  worth  doing.  "  I,"  says  one,  "  have 
planted"  :  it  is  well,  for  planting  must  be  done.  "  I," 
answers  another,  "  have  watered"  :  that  also  is  good 
and  necessary.  See  to  it  that  ye  can  each  bring  in  a  solid 
report  ;  but  letno  man  be  content  with  the  mere  child's- 
play  of  oratory,  or  the  getting  up  of  entertainments 
and  such  like. 

On  the  Lord's  farm  there  is  a  division  of  labor.  Even 
Paul  did  not  say,  "  I  have  planted  and  watered."  No, 
Paul  planted.  And  certainly  Apollos  could  not  say, 
"  I  have  planted  as  well  as  watered."  No,  it  was 
enough  for  him  to  attend  to  the  watering.  No  man  has 
all  gifts.  How  foolish,  then,  are  they  who  say,  "  I  enjoy 
So-and-so's  ministry  because  he  edifies  the  saints  in 
doctrine  ;  but  when  he  was  away  the  other  Sunday  I 
could  not  profit  by  the  preacher  because  he  was  all  for 
the  conversion  of  sinners."  Yes,  he  was  planting  ;  you 
have  been  planted  a  good  while,  and  do  not  need 
planting  again  ;  but  you  ought  to  be  thankful  that  others 
are  made  partakers  of  the  benefit.  One  soweth  and  an- 
other reapeth,  and  therefore  instead  of  grumbling  at 


FARM    LABORERS.  157 

the  honest  ploughman  because  he  did  not  bring  a  sickle 
with  him,  you  ought  to  have  prayed  for  him  that  he 
might  have  strength  to  plough  deep  and  break  up  hard 
hearts. 

Observe  that,  on  God's  farm,  there  is  unity  of  purpose 
among  the  laborers.  Read  the  text.  "  Now  he  that 
planteth  and  he  that  waterethareone."  One  Master  has 
employed  them,  and  though  he  may  send  them  out  at 
different  times,  and  to  different  parts  of  the  farm,  yet 
they  are  all  one  in  being  used  for  one  end,  to  work  for 
one  harvest.  In  England  we  do  not  understand  what  is 
meant  by  watering,  because  the  farmer  could  not  water 
all  his  farm  ;  but  in  the  East  a  farmer  waters  almost 
every  inch  of  his  ground.  He  would  have  no  crop  if 
he  did  not  use  all  means  for  irrigating  the  fields.  If 
you  have  ever  been  in  Italy,  Egypt,  or  Palestine,  you 
will  have  seen  a  complete  system  of  wells,  pumps, 
wheels,  buckets,  channels,  little  streamlets,  pipes,  and 
so  on,  by  which  the  water  is  carried  all  over  the  garden 
to  every  plant,  otherwise  in  the  extreme  heat  of  the  sun 
it  would  be  dried  up.  Planting  needs  wisdom,  watering 
needs  quite  as  much,  and  the  piecing  of  these  two  works 
together  needs  that  the  laborers  should  be  of  one  mind. 
It  is  a  bad  thing  when  laborers  are  at  cross  purposes,  and 
work  against  each  other,  and  this  evil  is  worse  in  the 
church  than  anywhere  else.  How  can  I  plant  with 
success  if  my  helper  will  not  water  what  I  have  planted  ; 
or  what  is  the  use  of  my  watering  if  nothing  is  planted  ? 
Husbandry  is  spoiled  when  foolish  people  undertake  it, 
and  quarrel  over  it  ;  for  from  sowing  to  reaping  the  work 
is  one,  and  all  must  be  done  to  one  end.  Let  us  pull 
together  all  our  days,  for  strife  brings  barrenness. 

We  are  called  upon  to  notice  in  our  text  that  all  the 


158  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

laborers  put  together  are  nothing  at  all.  "  Neither  is  he  that 
planteth  anything,  neither  he  that  watereth."  The 
workmen  are  nothing  at  all  without  their  master.  All 
the  laborers  on  a  farm  could  not  manage  it  if  they  had 
no  one  at  their  head,  and  all  the  preachers  and  Christian 
workers  in  the  world  can  do  nothing  unless  God  be 
with  them.  Remember  that  every  laborer  on  God's  farm 
has  derived  all  his  qualifications  from  God.  No  man 
knows  how  to  plant  or  water  souls  except  the  Lord 
teaches  him  from  day  to  day.  All  these  holy  gifts  are 
grants  of  free  grace.  All  the  laborers  work  under 
God's  direction  and  arrangement,  or  they  work  in 
vain.  They  would  not  know  when  or  how  to  do  their 
work  if  their  Master  did  not  guide  them  by  his  Spirit, 
without  whose  help  they  cannot  even  think  a  good 
thought.  All  God's  laborers  must  go  to  him  for  their 
seed,  or  else  they  will  scatter  tares.  All  good  seed 
comes  out  of  God's  granary.  If  we  preach,  it  must  be 
the  true  word  of  God,  or  nothing  can  come  of  it.  More 
than  that,  all  the  strength  that  is  in  the  laborer's  arm 
to  sow  the  heavenly  seed  must  be  given  by  the  Master. 
We  cannot  preach  except  God  be  with  us.  A  sermon 
is  vain  talk  and  dreary  word-spinning  unless  the  Holy 
Spirit  enlivens  it.  He  must  give  us  both  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  heart  and  the  answer  of  the  tongue,  or  we 
shall  be  as  men  who  sow  the  wind.  When  the  good  seed 
is  sown  the  whole  success  of  it  rests  with  God.  If  he 
withhold  the  dew  and  the  rain  the  seed  will  never  rise 
from  the  ground  ;  and  unless  he  shall  shine  upon  it  the 
green  ear  will  never  ripen.  The  human  heart  will  re- 
main barren,  even  though  Paul  himself  should  preach, 
unless  God  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  work  with  Paul  and 
bless  the  word  to  those  that  hear  it.  Therefore,  since 


FARM    LABORERS.  159 

the  increase  is  of  God  alone,  put  the  laborers  into  their 
place.  Do  not  make  too  much  of  us  ;  for  when  we  have 
done  all  we  are  unprofitable  servants. 

Yet,  though  inspiration  calls  the  laborers  nothing,  it 
says  that  they  shall  be  rewarded.  God  works  our  good  works 
in  us,  and  then  rewards  us  for  them.  Here  we  have  men- 
tion of  a  personal  service,  and  a  personal  reward :  ' '  Every 
man  shall  receive  his  own  reward  according  to  his  own 
labor."  The  reward  is  proportionate,  not  to  the  suc- 
cess, but  to  the  labor.  Many  discouraged  workers  may 
be  comforted  by  that  expression.  You  are  not  to  be 
paid  by  results,  but  by  endeavors.  You  may  have  a 
stiff  bit  of  clay  to  plough,  or  a  dreary  plot  of  land  to 
sow,  where  stones,  and  birds,  and  thorns,  and  travellers, 
and  a  burning  sun  may  all  be  leagued  against  the 
seed  ;  but  you  are  not  accountable  for  these  things  ; 
your  reward  shall  be  according  to  your  work.  Some 
put  a  great  deal  of  labor  into  a  little  field,  and  make 
much  out  of  it.  Others  use  a  great  deal  of  labor  through- 
out a  long  life,  and  yet  they  see  but  small  result,  for  it 
is  written,  "  One  soweth,  and  another  reapeth"  :  but  the 
reaping  man  will  not  get  all  the  reward,  the  sowing  man 
shall  receive  his  portion  of  the  joy.  The  laborers  are 
nobodies,  but  they  shall  enter  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord. 

Unitedly,  according  to  the  text,  the  workers  have  been 
successful,  and  that  is  a  great  part  of  their  reward.  "  I 
have  planted,  Apollos  watered  ;  but  God  gave  the  in- 
crease." Frequently  brethren  say  in  their  prayers,  "  A 
Paul  may  plant,  an  Apollos  may  water,  but  it  is  all  in 
vain  unless  God  gives  the  increase."  This  is  quite 
true  ;  but  another  truth  is  too  much  overlooked, 
namely,  that  when  Paul  plants  and  Apollos  waters, 
God  does  give  the  increase.  We  do  not  labor  in  vain. 


160  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

There  would  be  no  increase  without  God  ;  but  then  we 
are  not  without  God  :  when  such  men  as  Paul  and 
Apollos  plant  and  water,  there  is  sure  to  be  an  increase  ; 
they  are  the  right  kind  of  laborers,  they  work  in  a  right 
spirit,  and  God  is  certain  to  bless  them.  This  is  a  great 
part  of  the  laborer's  wages. 

III.  So  much  upon  the  laborers.  Now  for  the  main 
point  again.  GOD  HIMSELF  is  THE  GREAT  WORKER.  He 
may  use  what  laborers  he  pleases,  but  the  increase 
comes  alone  from  him.  Brethren,  you  know  it  is  so  in 
natural  things  :  the  most  skilful  farmer  cannot  make 
the  wheat  germinate,  and  grow,  and  ripen.  He  cannot 
even  preserve  a  single  field  till  harvest  time,  for  the 
farmer's  enemies  are  many  and  mighty.  In  husbandry 
there's  many  a  slip  'twixt  the  cup  and  the  lip  ;  and 
when  the  farmer  thinks,  good  easy  man,  that  he  shall 
reap  his  crop,  there  are  blights  and  mildews  lingering 
about  to  rob  him  of  his  gains.  God  must  give  the 
increase.  If  any  man  is  dependent  on  God  it  is  the 
husbandman,  and  through  him  we  are  all  of  us  depend- 
ent upon  God  from  year  to  year  for  the  food  by  which 
we  live.  Even  the  king  must  live  by  the  produce  of 
the  field.  God  gives  the  increase  in  the  barn  and  the 
hay-rick  ;  and  in  the  spiritual  farm  it  is  even  more  so, 
for  what  can  man  do  in  this  business  ?  If  any  of  you 
think  that  it  is  an  easy  thing  to  win  a  soul  I  should  like 
you  to  attempt  it.  Suppose  that  without  divine  aid 
you  should  try  to  save  a  soul — you  might  as  well  at- 
tempt to  make  a  world.  Why,  you  cannot  create  a 
fly,  how  can  you  create  a  new  heart  and  a  right 
spirit  ?  Regeneration  is  a  great  mystery,  it  is  out  of 
your  reach.  "  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and 


FARM    LABORERS.  l6l 

thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence 
it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth  :  so  is  every  one  that  is 
born  of  the  Spirit."  What  can  you  and  I  do  in  this  mat- 
ter ?  it  is  far  beyond  our  line.  We  can  tell  out  the  truth 
of  God  ;  but  to  apply  that  truth  to  the  heart  and  con- 
science is  quite  another  thing.  I  have  preached  Jesus 
Christ  with  my  whole  heart,  and  yet  I  know  that  I  have 
never  produced  a  saving  effect  upon  a  single  unregener- 
ate  man  unless  the  Spirit  of  God  has  opened  the  heart 
and  placed  the  living  seed  of  truth  within  it.  Experi- 
ence teaches  us  this.  Equally  is  it  the  Lord's  work  to 
keep  the  seed  alive  when  it  springs  up.  We  think  we 
have  converts,  and  we  are  not  long  before  we  are  disap- 
pointed in  them.  Many  are  like  blossoms  on  our  apple 
trees  ;  they  are  fair  to  look  upon,  but  they  do  not  come 
to  anything  ;  and  others  are  like  the  many  little  apples 
which  fall  off  long  before  they  have  come  to  any  size. 
He  who  presides  over  a  great  church,  and  feels  an  agony 
for  the  souls  of  men,  will  soon  be  convinced  that  if  God 
does  not  work  there  will  be  no  work  done  :  we  shall  see 
no  conversion,  no  sanctification,  no  final  perseverance, 
no  glory  brought  to  God,  no  satisfaction  for  the  pas- 
sion of  the  Saviour,  unless  the  Lord  be  with  us.  Well 
said  our  Lord,  "  Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing." 

Briefly  I  would  draw  certain  practical  lessons  out 
of  this  important  truth  :  the  first  is,  if  the  whole  farm 
of  the  church  belongs  exclusively  to  the  great  Master 
Worker,  and  the  laborers  are  worth  nothing  without 
him,  let  this  promote  unity  among  all  whom  he  employs.  If 
we  are  all  under  one  Master,  do  not  let  us  quarrel.  It 
is  a  miserable  business  when  we  cannot  bear  to  see  good 
being  done  by  those  of  a  different  denomination  who 


162  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

work  in  ways  of  their  own.  If  a  new  laborer  comes 
on  the  farm,  and  he  uses  a  hoe  of  a  new  shape,  shall  I 
become  his  enemy  ?  If  he  does  his  work  better  than  I 
do  mine,  shall  I  be  jealous  ?  Do  you  not  remember 
reading  in  the  Scriptures  that,  upon  one  occasion,  the 
disciples  could  not  cast  out  a  devil  ?  This  ought  to 
have  made  them  humble  ;  but  to  our  surprise  we  read  a 
few  verses  further  on  that  they  saw  one  casting  out 
devils  in  Christ's  name,  and  they  forbade  him  because  he 
followed  not  with  their  company.  They  could  not  cast 
out  the  devil  themselves,  and  they  forbade  those  who 
could.  A  certain  band  of  people  are  going  about  win- 
ning souls,  but  because  they  are  not  doing  it  in  our 
fashion,  we  do  not  like  it.  It  is  true  they  have  odd 
ways  ;  but  they  do  really  save  souls,  and  that  is  the 
main  point.  Instead  of  cavilling,  let  us  encourage  all 
on  Christ's  side.  Wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children, 
though  some  of  them  are  far  from  handsome.  The 
laborers  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  the  new  ploughman  if 
their  Master  smiles  upon  him.  Brother,  if  the  great 
Lord  has  employed  you,  it  is  no  business  of  mine  to 
question  his  choice.  Can  I  lend  you  a  hand  ?  Can 
I  show  you  how  to  work  better  ?  Or  can  you  show  me 
how  I  can  improve  ?  This  is  the  proper  behavior  of 
one  workman  to  another. 

This  truth,  however,  ought  to  keep  all  the  laborers 
very  dependent.  Are  you  going  to  preach,  young  man  ? 
"Yes,  I  am  going  to  do  a  great  deal  of  good."  Are 
you  ?  Have  you  forgotten  that  you  are  nothing  ? 
"  Neither  is  he  that  planteth  anything."  A  divine  is 
coming  brimful  of  the  gospel  to  comfort  the  saints.  If 
he  is  not  coming  in  strict  dependence  upon  God,  he,  too, 
is  nothing.  "  Neither  is  he  that  watereth  anything." 


FARM    LABORERS.  163 

Power  belongeth  unto  God.  Man  is  vanity  and  his 
words  are  wind  ;  to  God  alone  belongeth  power  and 
wisdom.  If  we  keep  our  places  in  all  lowliness  our 
Lord  will  use  us  ;  but  if  we  exalt  ourselves  he  will  leave 
us  to  our  nothingness. 

Next  notice  that  this  fact  ennobles  everybody  who  labors 
in  God's  husbandry.  My  soul  is  lifted  up  with  joy  when  I 
mark  these  words,  "  For  we  are  laborers  together  with 
God  ":  mere  laborers  on  his  farm,  and  yet  laborers 
with  him.  Does  the  Lord  work  with  us  ?  We  know  he 
does  by  the  signs  following.  "  My  Father  worketh 
hitherto,  and  I  work,"  is  language  for  all  the  sons- of 
God  as  well  as  for  the  great  Firstborn.  God  is  with 
you,  my  brethren,  when  you  are  serving  him  with  all  your 
heart.  Speaking  to  your  class  concerning  Jesus,  it  is 
God  that  speaks  by  you  ;  picking  up  that  stranger  on 
the  way,  and  telling  him  of  salvation  by  faith,  Christ  is 
speaking  through  you  even  as  he  spoke  with  the  woman 
at  the  well  ;  addressing  the  rough  crowd  in  the  open 
air,  young  man,  if  you  are  preaching  pardon  through 
the  atoning  blood,  it  is  the  God  of  Peter  who  is  testify- 
ing of  his  Son,  even  as  he  did  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 

But,  lastly,  how  this  should  drive  us  to  our  knees. 
Since  we  are  nothing  without  God,  let  us  cry  mightily 
unto  him  for  help  in  this  our  holy  service.  Let  both 
sower  and  reaper  pray  together,  or  they  will  never  re- 
joice together.  If  the  blessing  be  withheld,  it  is  be- 
cause we  do  not  cry  for  it  and  expect  it.  Brother  labor- 
ers, come  to  the  mercy-seat)  and  we  shall  yet  see  the 
reapers  return  from  the  fields  bringing  their  sheaves 
with  them,  though,  perhaps,  they  went  forth  weeping  to 
the  sowing.  To  our  Father,  who  is  the  husbandman, 
be  all  glory,  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 


WHAT   THE   FARM   LABORERS   CAN    DO   AND 
WHAT   THEY   CANNOT   DO. 

"  And  he  said,  So  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  if  a  man  should  cast  seed  Into 
the  ground  ;  and  should  sleep,  and  rise  night  and  day,  and  the  seed  should 
spring  and  grow  up,  he  knoweth  not  how.  For  the  earth  bringeth  forth  fruit 
of  herself  ;  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear.  But 
when  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  immediately  he  putteth  in  the  sickle,  because 
the  harvest  is  come.  " — MARK  4  :  26-29. 

THERE  is  a  lesson  for  "  laborers  together  with  God." 
It  is  a  parable  for  all  who  are  concerned  in  the  kingdom 
of  God.  It  will  be  of  little  value  to  those  who  are  in 
the  kingdom  of  darkness,  for  they  are  not  bidden  to 
sow  the  good  seed  :  "  Unto  the  wicked  God  saith,  What 
hast  thou  to  do  to  declare  my  statutes  ?"  But  all  who 
are  commissioned  to  scatter  seed  for  the  Royal  Hus- 
bandman, will  be  glad  to  know  how  the  harvest  is  pre- 
paring for  him  whom  they  serve.  Listen,  then,  ye  that 
sow  beside  all  waters  ;  ye  that  with  holy  diligence  seek 
to  fill  the  garners  of  heaven — listen,  and  may  the  Spirit 
of  God  speak  into  your  ears  as  you  are  able  to  bear  it. 

I.  We  shall,  first,  learn  from  our  text  WHAT  WE  CAN 
DO  AND  WHAT  WE  CANNOT  DO.  Let  this  stand  as  our  first 
head. 

"  So  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  if  a  man  should  cast 
seed  into  the  ground  :"  this  the  gracious  worker  can 
do.  "  And  the  seed  should  spring  and  grow  up,  he 
knoweth  not  how  :"  this  is  what  he  cannot  do  :  seed 


WHAT  THE;  FARM  LABORERS  CAN  AND  CANNOT  DO.     165 

once  sown  is  beyond  human  jurisdiction,  and  man  can 
neither  make  it  spring  nor  grow.  Yet  ere  long  the 
worker  comes  in  again  : — "  When  the  fruit  is  brought 
forth,  immediately  he  putteth  in  the  sickle."  We  can 
reap  in  due  season,  and  it  is  both  our  duty  and  our  priv- 
ilege to  do  so.  You  see,  then,  that  there  is  a  place  for 
the  worker  at  the  beginning,  and  though  there  is  no 
room  for  him  in  the  middle  passage,  yet  another  oppor- 
tunity is  given  him  further  on  when  that  which  he  sowed 
has  actually  yielded  fruit. 

Notice,  then,  that  we  can  sow.  Any  man  who  has 
received  the  knowledge  of  the  grace  of  God  in  his  heart 
can  teajch  others.  I  include  under  the  term  "  man"  all 
who  know  the  Lord,  be  they  male  or  female.  We  can- 
not all  teach  alike,  for  all  have  not  the  same  gifts  ;  to 
one  is  given  one  talent,  and  to  another  ten  ;  neither 
have  we  all  the  same  opportunities,  for  one  lives  in  ob- 
scurity and  another  has  far-reaching  i  ;:luence  ;  yet 
there  is  not  within  the  family  of  God  an  infant  hand 
which  may  not  drop  its  own  tiny  seed  into  the  ground. 
There  is  not  a  man  among  us  wrho  needs  to  stand  idle  in 
the  market-place,  for  work  suitable  to  his  strength  is 
waiting  for  him.  There  is  not  a  saved  woman  who  is 
left  without  a  holy  task  ;  let  her  do  it  and  win  the  ap- 
proving word,  "  She  hath  done  what  she  could." 

We  need  never  quarrel  with  God  because  we  cannot 
do  everything,  if  he  only  permits  us  to  do  this  one 
thing  ;  for  sowing  the  good  seed  is  a  work  which  will 
need  all  our  wit,  our  strength,  our  love,  our  care.  Holy 
seed  sowing  should  be  adopted  as  our  highest  pursuit, 
and  it  will  be  no  inferior  object  for  the  noblest  life. 
You  will  need  heavenly  teaching  that  you  may  carefully 
select  the  wheat,  and  keep  it  free  from  the  darnel  of 


1 66  TALKS   TO   FARMKRS. 

error.  You  will  require  instruction  to  winnow  out  of 
it  your  own  thoughts  and  opinions  ;  for  these  may  not 
be  according  to  the  mind  of  God.  Men  are  not  saved 
by  our  word,  but  by  God's  word.  We  need  grace  to 
learn  the  gospel  aright,  and  to  teach  the  whole  of  it. 
To  different  men  we  must,  with  discretion,  bring  for- 
ward that  part  of  the  word  of.God  which  will  best  bear 
upon  their  consciences  ;  for  much  may  depend  upon 
the  word  being  in  season. 

Having  selected  the  seed,  we  shall  have  plenty  of 
work  if  we  go  forth  and  sow  it  broadcast  everywhere, 
for  every  day  brings  its  opportunity,  and  every  com- 
pany furnishes  its  occasion.  "  In  the  morning  sow  thy 
seed,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thy  hand." 
"  Sow  beside  all  waters." 

Still,  wise  sowers  discover  favorable  opportunities 
for  sowing,  and  gladly  seize  upon  them.  There  are 
times  when  it  would  clearly  be  a  waste  to  sow  ;  for  the 
soil  could  not  receive  it,  it  is  not  in  a  fit  condition. 
After  a  shower,  or  before  a  shower,  or  at  some  such 
time  as  he  that  hath  studied  husbandry  prefers,  then 
must  we  be  up  and  doing.  While  we  are  to  work  for 
God  always,  yet  there  are  seasons  when  it  were  casting 
pearls  before  swine  to  talk  of  holy  things,  and  there  are 
other  times  when  to  be  silent  would  be  a  great  sin. 
Sluggards  in  the  time  for  ploughing  and  sowing  are 
sluggards  indeed,  for  they  not  only  waste  the  day,  but 
throw  away  the  year.  If  you  watch  for  souls,  and  use 
hours  of  happy  vantage,  and  moments  of  sacred  soften- 
ing, you  will  not  complain  of  the  scanty  space  allowed 
for  agency.  Even  should  you  never  be  called  to  water, 
or  to  reap,  your  office  is  wide  enough  if  you  fulfil  the 
work  of  the  sower. 


WHAT  THE  FARM  LABORERS  CAN  AND  CANNOT  DO.       167 

For  little  though  it  seem  to  teach  the  simple  truth 
of  the  gospel,  yet  it  is  essential.  How  shall  men  hear 
without  a  teacher  ?  Servants  of  God,  the  seed  of  the 
word  is  not  like  thistle-down,  which  is  borne  by  every 
wind  ;  but  the  wheat  of  the  kingdom  needs  a  human 
hand  to  sow  it,  and  without  such  agency  it  will  not 
enter  into  men's  hearts,  neither  can  it  bring  forth  fruit 
to  the  glory  of  God.  The  preaching  of  the  gospel  is 
the  necessity  of  every  age  ;  God  grant  that  our  country 
may  never  be  deprived  of  it.  Even  if  the  Lord  should 
send  us  a  famine  of  bread  and  of  water,  may  he  never 
send  us  a  famine  of  the  word  of  God.  Faith  cometh  by 
hearing,  and  how  can  there  be  hearing  if  there  is  no 
teaching  ?  Scatter  ye,  scatter  ye,  then,  the  seed  of  the 
kingdom,  for  this  is  essential  to  the  harvest. 

This  seed  should  be  sown  often,  for  many  are  the 
foes  of  the  wheat,  and  if  you  repeat  not  your  sowing 
you  may  never  see  a  harvest.  The  seed  must  be  sown 
everywhere,  too,  for  there  are  no  choice  corners  of  the 
world  that  you  can  afford  to  let  alone,  in  the  hope  that 
they  will  be  self-productive.  You  may  not  leave  the 
rich  and  intelligent  under  the  notion  that  surely  the 
gospel  will  be  found  among  them,  for  it  is  not  so  :  the 
pride  of  life  leads  them  away  from  God.  You  may  not 
leave  the  poor  and  illiterate,  and  say,  "  Surely  they  will 
of  themselves  feel  their  need  of  Christ."  Not  so  :  they 
will  sink  from  degradation  to  degradation  unless  you 
uplift  them  with  the  gospel.  No  tribe  of  man,  no  pecu- 
liar constitution  of  the  human  mind,  may  be  neglected 
by  us  ;  but  everywhere  we  must  preach  the  word,  in 
season  and  out  of  season.  I  have  heard  that  Captain 
Cook,  the  celebrated  circumnavigator,  in  whatever  part 
of  the  earth  he  landed,  took  with  him  a  little  packet  of 


1 68  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

English  seeds,  and  scattered  them  in  suitable  places. 
He  would  leave  the  boat  and  wander  up  from  the  shore. 
He  said  nothing,  but  quietly  scattered  the  seeds  wher- 
ever he  went,  so  that  he  belted  the  world  with  the  flow- 
ers and  herbs  of  his  native  land.  Imitate  him  wherever 
you  go  ;  sow  spiritual  seed  in  every  place  that  your  foot 
shall  tread  upon. 

Let  us  now  think  of  what  you  cannot  do.  You  can- 
not, after  the  seed  has  left  your  hand,  cause  it  to  put  forth 
life.  I  am  sure  you  cannot  make  it  grow,  for  you  do 
not  know  how  it  grows.  The  text  saith,  "  And  the  seed 
should  spring  and  grow  up,  he  knoweth  not  how." 
That  which  is  beyond  the  range  of  our  knowledge  is 
certainly  beyond  the  reach  of  our  power.  Can  you 
make  a  seed  germinate  ?  You  may  place  it  unde'r  cir- 
cumstances of  damp  and  heat  which  will  cause  it  to 
swell  and  break  forth  with  a  shoot,  but  the  germination 
itself  is  beyond  you.  How  is  it  done  ?-  We  know  not. 
After  the  germ  has  been  put  forth,  can  you  make  it 
further  grow,  and  develop  its  life  into  leaf  and  stem  ? 
No  ;  that,  too,  is  out  of  your  power.  And  when  the 
green,  grassy  blade  has  been  succeeded  by  the  ear,  can 
you  ripen  it  ?  It  will  be  ripened  ;  but  can  you  do  it  ? 
You  know  you  cannot  ;  you  can  have  no  finger  in  the 
actual  process,  though  you  may  promote  the  conditions 
under  which  it  is  carried  on.  Life  is  a  mystery  ;  growth 
is  a  mystery  ;  ripening  is  a  mystery  :  and  these  three 
mysteries  are  as  fountains  sealed  against  all  intrusion. 
How  comes  it  that  there  is  within  the  ripe  seed  the 
preparations  for  another  sowing  and  another  growth  ? 
What  is  this  vital  principle,  this  secret  reproducing 
energy  ?  Knowest  thou  anything  about  this  ?  The 
philosopher  may  talk  about  chemical  combinations,  and 


WHAT  THE  FARM  LABORERS  CAN  AND  CANNOT  DO.       169 

he  may  proceed  to  quote  analogies  from  this  and  that  ; 
but  still  the  growth  of  the  seed  remains  a  secret  ;  it 
springs  up,  he  knoweth  not  how.  Certainly  this  is  true 
of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  life  of  God  in  the  heart. 
It  enters  the  soul,  and  roots  itself  we  know  not  how. 
Naturally  men  hate  the  word,  but  it  enters  and  it 
changes  their  hearts,  so  that  they  come  to  love  it  ;  yet 
we  know  not  how.  Their  whole  nature  is  renewed,  so 
that  instead  of  producing  sin  it  yields  repentance,  faith, 
and  love  ;  but  we  know  not  how.  How  the  Spirit  of 
God  deals  with  the  mind  of  man,  how  he  creates  the 
new  heart  and  the  right  spirit,  how  we  are  begotten 
again  unto  a  lively  hope,  we  cannot  tell.  The  Holy 
Ghost  enters  into  us  ;  we  hear  not  his  voice,  we  see  not 
his  light,  we  feel  not  his  touch  ;  yet  he  worketh  an 
effectual  work  upon  us,  which  we  are  not  long  in  per- 
ceiving. We  know  that  the  work  of  the  Spirit  is  a  new 
creation,  a  resurrection,  a  quickening  from  the  dead  ; 
but  all  these  words  are  only  covers  to  our  utter  igno- 
rance of  the  mode  of  his  working,  with  which  it  is  not  in 
our  power  to  meddle.  We  do  not  know  how  he  per- 
forms his  miracles  of  love,  and,  not  knowing  how  he 
works,  we  may  be  quite  sure  that  we  cannot  take  the 
work  out  of  his  hands.  We  cannot  create,  we  cannot 
quicken,  we  cannot  transform,  we  cannot  regenerate, 
we  cannot  save. 

This  work  of  God  having  proceeded  in  the  growth 
of  the  seed,  what  next  ?  We  can  reap  the  ripe  ears.  After 
a  season  God  the  Holy  Spirit  uses  his  servants  again. 
As  soon  as  the  living  seed  has  produced  first  of  all  the 
blade  of  thought,  and  afterwards  the  green  ear  of  con- 
viction, and  then  faith,  which  is  as  full  corn  in  the  ear, 
then  the  Christian  worker  comes  in  for  further  service, 


170  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

for  he  can  reap.  "  When  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  im- 
mediately he  putteth  in  the  sickle."  This  is  not  the 
reaping  of  the  last  great  day,  for  that  does  not  come 
within  the  scope  of  the  parable,  which  evidently  relates 
to  a  human  sower  and  reaper.  The  kind  of  reaping 
which  the  Saviour  here  intends  is  that  which  he  referred 
to  when  he  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Lift  up  your  eyes, 
and  look  on  the  fields  ;  for  they  are  white  already  to 
harvest."  After  he  had  been  sowing  the  seed  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Samaritans,  and  it  had  sprung  up,  so  that 
they  began  to  evince  faith  in  him,  the  Lord  Jesus  cried, 
"  The  fields  are  white  to  harvest."  The  apostle  saith, 
"  One  soweth,  and  another  reapeth."  Our  Lord  said 
to  the  disciples,  "  I  sent  you  to  reap  that  whereon  ye 
bestowed  no  labor."  Is  there  not  a  promise,  "  In  due 
season  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not "  ? 

Christian  workers  begin  their 'harvest  work  by 
watching  for  signs  of  faith  in  Christ.  They  are  eager 
to  see  the  blade,  and  delighted  to  mark  the  ripening 
ear.  They  often  hope  that  men  are  believers,  but  they 
long  to  be  sure  of  it  ;  and  when  they  judge  that  at  last 
the  fruit  of  faith  is  put  forth,  they  begin  to  encourage, 
to  congratulate,  and  to  comfort.  They  know  that  the 
young  believer  needs  to  be  housed  in  the  barn  of  Chris- 
tian fellowship,  that  he  may  be  saved  from  a  thousand 
perils.  No  wise  farmer  leaves  the  fruit  of  the  field  long 
exposed  to  the  hail  which  might  beat  it  out,  or  to  the 
mildew  which  might  destroy  it,  or  to  the  birds  which 
might  devour  it.  Evidently  no  believing  man  should 
be  left  outside  of  the  garner  of  holy  fellowship  ;  he 
should  be  carried  into  the  midst  of  the  church  with  all 
the  joy  which  attends  the  home-bringing  of  sheaves. 
The  worker  for  Christ  watches  carefully,  and  when  he 


WHAT  THE  FARM  LABORERS  CAN  AND  CANNOT  DO.       171 

discerns  that  his  time  is  come,  he  begins  at  once  to  fetch 
in  the  converts,  that  they  may  be  cared  for  by  the 
brotherhood,  separated  from  the  world,  screened  from 
temptation,  and  laid  up  for  the  Lord.  He  is  diligent  to 
do  it  at  once,  because  the  text  saith,  "  immediately  he 
putteth  in  the  sickle."  He  does  not  wait  for  months  in 
cold  suspicion  ;  he  is  not  afraid  that  he  shall  encourage 
too  soon  when  faith  is  really  present.  He  comes  with 
the  word  of  promise  and  the  smile  of  brotherly  love  at 
once,  and  he  says  to  the  new  believer,  "  Have  you  con- 
fessed your  faith  ?  Is  not  the  time  come  for  an  open 
confession  ?  Hath  not  Jesus  bidden  the  believer  to  be 
baptized  ?  If  you  love  him,  keep  his  commandments." 
He  does  not  rest  till  he  has  introduced  the  convert  to 
the  communion  of  the  faithful.  For  our  work,  beloved, 
is  but  half  done  when  men  are  made  disciples  and 
baptized.  We  have  then  to  encourage,  to  instruct,  to 
strengthen,  to  console,  and  succor  in  all  times  of  diffi- 
culty and  danger.  What  saith  the  Saviour?  "  Go  ye 
therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptiz- 
ing them  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  :  teaching  them  to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you." 

Observe,  then,  the  sphere  and  limit  of  agency.  We 
can  introduce  the  truth  to  men,  but  that  truth  the  Lord 
himself  must  bless  ;  the  living  and  growing  of  the  word 
within  the  soul  is  of  God  alone.  When  the  mystic  work 
of  growth  is  done,  we  are  able  to  garner  the  saved  ones 
in  the  church.  For  Christ  to  be  formed  in  men  the  hope 
of  glory  is  not  of  our  working,  that  remains  with  God  ; 
but,  when  Jesus  Christ  is  formed  in  them,  to  discern  the 
image  of  the  Saviour  and  to  say,  "  Come  in,  thou  blessed 
of  the  Lord,  wherefore  standest  thou  without  ?"  this  is 


172  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

our  duty  and  delight.  To  create  the  divine  life  is 
God's,  to  cherish  it  is  ours.  To  cause  the  hidden  life  to 
grow  is  the  work  of  the  Lord  ;  to  see  the  uprising  and 
development  of  that  life  and  to  harvest  it  is  the  work 
of  the  faithful,  even  as  it  is  written,  "  When  the  fruit 
is  brought  forth,  immediately  he  putteth  in  the  sickle, 
because  the  harvest  is  come." 

This,  then,  is  our  first  lesson  ;  we  see  what  we  can 
do  and  what  we  cannot  do. 

II.     Our  second  head   is   like  unto   the   first,   and 

Consists  Of  WHAT  WE  CAN  KNOW  AND  WHAT  WE  CANNOT 
KNOW. 

First,  what  we  can  know.  We  can  know  when  we 
have  sown  the  good  seed  of  the  word  that  it  will  grow  ; 
for  God  has  promised  that  it  shall  do  so.  Not  every 
grain  in  every  place  ;  for  some  will  go  to  the  bird,  and 
some  to  the  worm,  and  some  to  be  scorched  by  the  sun  ; 
but,  as  a  general  rule,  God's  word  shall  not  return  unto 
him  void,  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing  whereto  he  hath 
sent  it.  This  we  can  know.  And  we  can  know  that 
the  seed  when  once  it  takes  root  will  continue  to  grow  ; 
that  it  is  not  a  dream  or  a  picture  that  will  disappear, 
but  a  thing  of  force  and  energy,  which  will  advance 
from  a  grassy  blade  to  corn  in  the  ear,  and  under  God's 
blessing  will  develop  to  actual  salvation,  and  be  as  the 
"  full  corn  in  the  ear."  God  helping  and  blessing  it, 
our  work  of  teaching  will  not  only  lead  men  to  thought 
and  conviction,  but  to  conversion  and  eternal  life. 

We  also  can  know,  because  we  are  told  so,  that  the 
reason  for  this  is  mainly  because  there  is  life  in  the 
word.  In  the  word  of  God  itself  there  is  life,  for  it  is 
written — "The  word  of  God  is  quick  and  powerful," 


WHAT  THE  FARM  LABORERS  CAN  AND  CANNOT  DO.       173 

that  is,  "  living  and  powerful."  It  is  "  the  incorrupti- 
ble seed  which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever."  It  is  the 
nature  of  living  seeds  to  grow  ;  and  the  reas6n  why 
the  word  of  God  grows  in  men's  hearts  is  because  it 
is  the  living  word  of  the  living  God,  and  where  the  word 
of  a  king  is  there  is  power.  We  know  this,  because  the 
Scriptures  teach  us  so.  Is  it  not  written,  "  Of  his  own 
will  begat  he  us  by  the  word  of  truth"  ? 

Moreover,  the  earth,  which  is  here  the  type  of  the 
man,  "  bringeth  forth  fruit  of  herself."  We  must  mind 
what  we  are  at  in  expounding  this,  for  human  hearts  do 
not  produce  faith  of  themselves  ;  they  are  as  hard  rock 
on  which  the  seed  perishes.  But  it  means  this — that  as 
the  earth  under  the  blessing  of  the  dew  and  the  rain  is, 
by  God's  secret  working  upon  it,  made  to  take  up  and 
embrace  the  seed,  so  the  heart  of  man  is  made  ready  to 
receive  and  enfold  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  within 
itself.  Man's  awakened  heart  wants  exactly  what  the 
word  of  God  supplies.  Moved  by  a  divine  influence  the 
soul  embraces  the  truth,  and  is  embraced  by  it,  and  so 
the  truth  lives  in  the  heart,  and  is  quickened  by  it. 
Man's  love  accepts  the  love  of  God  ;  man's  faith 
wrought  in  him  by  the  Spirit  of  God  believes  the  truth 
of  God  ;  man's  hope  wrought  in  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
lays  hold  upon  the  things  revealed,  and  so  the  heavenly 
seed  grows  in  the  soil  of  the  soul.  The  life  comes  not 
from  you  who  preach  the  word,  but  it  is  placed  within 
the  word  which  you  preach  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  life 
is  not  in  your  hand,  but  in  the  heart  which  is  led  to  take 
hold  upon  the  truth  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  Salvation 
comes  not  from  the  personal  authority  of  the  preacher, 
but  through  the  personal  conviction,  personal  faith, 
and  personal  love  of  the  hearer.  So  much  as  this 


174  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

we  may  know,  and   is  it  not  enough  for  all  practical 
purposes  ? 

Still,  there  is  a  something  which  we  cannot  know,  a 
secret  into  which  we  cannot  pry.  I  repeat  what  I  have 
said  before  :  you  cannot  look  into  men's  inward  parts 
and  see  exactly  how  the  truth  takes  hold  upon  the 
heart,  or  the  heart  takes  hold  upon  the  truth.  Many  have 
watched  their  own  feelings  till  they  have  become  blind 
with  despondency,  and  others  have  watched  the  feel- 
ings of  the  young  till  they  have  done  them  rather  harm 
than  good  by  their  rigorous  supervision.  In  God's 
work  there  is  more  room  for  faith  than  for  sight.  The 
heavenly  seed  grows  secretly.  You  must  bury  it  out  of 
sight,  or  there  will  be  no  harvest.  Even  if  you  keep  the 
seed  above  ground,  and  it  does  sprout,  you  cannot 
discover  how  it  grows  ;  even  though  you  microscopically 
watched  its  swelling  and  bursting,  you  could  not  see 
the  inward  vital  force  which  moves  the  seed.  Thou 
knowest  not  the  way  of  the  Spirit.  His  work  is  wrought 
in  secret.  "  Explain  the  new  birth,"  says  somebody. 
My  answer  is,  "  Experience  the  new  birth,  and  you 
shall  know  what  it  is."  There  are  secrets  into  which 
we  cannot  enter,  for  their  light  is  too  bright  for  mortal 
eyes  to  endure.  O  man,  thou  canst  not  become  om- 
niscient, for  thou  art  a  creature,  and  not  the  Creator. 
For  thee  there  must  ever  be  a  region  not  only  unknown 
but  unknowable.  So  far  shall  thy  knowledge  go,  but 
no  farther  ;  and  thou  mayest  thank  God  it  is  so,  for 
thus  he  leaves  room  for  faith,  and  gives  cause  for  prayer. 
Cry  mightily  unto  the  Great  Worker  to  do  what  thou 
canst  not  attempt  to  perform,  that  so,  when  thou  seest 
men  saved,  thou  mayest  give  the  Lord  all  the  glory 
evermore. 


WHAT  THE  FARM  LABORERS  CAN  AND  CANNOT  DO.       175 

III.  Thirdly,  our  text  tells  us  WHAT  WE  MAY  EXPECT 

IF    WE    WORK    FOR    GOD,   AND    WHAT    WE  MAY  NOT  EXPECT. 

According  to  this  parable  we  may  expect  to  see  fruit.  The 
husbandman  casts  his  seed  into  the  ground  :  the  seed 
springs  and  grows,  and  he  naturally  expects  a  harvest. 
I  wish  I  could  say  a  word  to  stir  up  the  expectations  of 
Christian  workers  ;  for  I  fear  that  many  work  without 
faith.  Tf  you  had  a  garden  or  a  field,  and  you  sow  seed 
in  it,  you  would  be  very  greatly  surprised  and  grieved 
if  it  did  not  come  up  at  all  ;  but  many  Christian  people 
seem  quite  content  to  work  on  without  expectation  of 
result.  This  is  a  pitiful  kind  of  working — pulling  up 
empty  buckets  by  the  year  together.  Surely,  I  must 
either  see  some  result  for  my  labor  and  be  glad,  or  else, 
failing  to  see  it,  I  must  be  ready  to  break  my  heart  if 
I  be  a  true  servant  of  the  great  Master.  We  ought  to 
have  expected  results  ;  if  we  had  expected  more  we 
should  have  seen  more  ;  but  a  lack  of  expectation  has 
been  a  great  cause  of  failure  in  God's  workers. 

But  we  may  not  expect  to  see  all  the  :eed  which  we  sow 
spring  up  t  e  moment  we  sow  it.  Sometimes,  glory  be  to 
God,  we  have  but  to  deliver  the  word,  and  straightway 
men  are  converted  :  the  reaper  overtakes  the  sower,  in 
such  instances  ;  but  it  is  not  always  so.  Some  sowers  have 
been  diligent  for  years  upon  their  plots  of  ground,  and 
yet  apparently  all  has  been  in  vain  ;  at  last  the  harvest 
has  come,  a  harvest  which,  speaking  after  the  manner  of 
men,  had  never  been  reaped  if  they  had  not  persevered 
to  the  end.  This  world,  as  I  believe,  is  to  be  converted 
to  Christ  ;  but  not  to-day,  nor  to-morrow,  peradventure 
not  for  many  an  age  ;  but  the  sowing  of  the  centuries  is 
not  being  lost,  it  is  working  on  toward  the  grand  ulti- 
matum. A  crop  of  mushrooms  may  soon  be  produced  ; 


176  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

but  a  forest  of  oaks  will  not  reward  the  planter  till  gen- 
erations of  his  children  have  mouldered  in  the  dust.  It 
is  ours  to  sow,  and  to  hope  for  quick  reaping  ;  but  still 
we  ought  to  remember  that  "  the  husbandman  waiteth 
for  the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth,  and  hath  long  pa- 
tience for  it,  until  he  receive  the  early  and  latter  rain," 
and  so  must  we.  We  are  to  expect  results,  but  not  to 
be  dispirited  if  we  have  to  wait  for  them. 

We  are  also  to  expect  to  see  the  good  seed  grow, 
but  not  always  after  our  fashion.  Like  children,  we  are 
apt  to  be  impatient.  Your  little  boy  sowed  mustard 
and  cress  yesterday  in  his  garden.  This  afternoon 
Johnny  will  be  turning  over  the  ground  to  see  if  the 
seed  is  growing.  There  is  no  probability  that  his  mus- 
tard and  cress  will  come  to  anything,  for  he  will  not  let 
it  alone  long  enough  for  it  to  grow.  So  is  it  with  hasty 
workers  ;  they  must  see  the  result  of  the  gospel  directly, 
or  else  they  distrust  the  blessed  word.  Certain  preach- 
ers are  in  such  a  hurry  that  they  will  allow  no  time 
for  thought,  no  space  for  counting  the  cost,  no  oppor- 
tunity for  men  to  consider  their  ways  and  turn  to  the 
Lord  with  full  purpose  of  heart.  All  other  seeds  take 
time  to  grow,  but  the  seed  of  the  word  must  grow  be- 
fore the  speaker's  eyes  like  magic,  or  he  thinks  nothing 
has  been  done.  Such  good  brethren  are  so  eager  to 
produce  blade  and  ear  there  and  then,  that  they  roast 
their  seed  in  the  fire  of  fanaticism,  and  it  perishes. 
They  make  men  think  that  they  are  converted,  and  thus 
effectually  hinder  them  from  coming  to  a  saving  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth.  Some  men  are  prevented  from  being 
saved  by  being  told  that  they  are  saved  already,  and  by 
being  puffed  up  with  a  notion  of  perfection  when  they  are 
not  even  broken  in  heart.  Perhaps  if  such  people  had 


WHAT  THE  FARM  LABORERS  CAN  AND  CANNOT  DO.       177 

been  taught  to  look  for  something  deeper  they  might 
not  have  been  satisfied  with  receiving  seed  on  stony 
ground  ;  but  now  they  exhibit  a  rapid  development, 
and  an  equally  rapid  decline  and  fall.  Let  us  believ- 
ingly  expect  to  see  the  seed  grow  ;  but  let  us  look  to  see 
it  advance  after  the  manner  of  the  preacher— firstly, 
secondly,  thirdly  :  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then 
the  full  corn  in  the  ear. 

We  may  expect  also  to  see  the  seed  ripen.  Our 
works  will  by  God's  grace  lead  up  to  real  faith  in  those 
he  hath  wrought  upon  by  his  word  and  Spirit  ;  but  we 
must  not  expect  to  see  it  perfect  at  first.  How  many  mistakes 
have  been  made  here.  Here  is  a  young  person  under 
impression,  and  some  good,  sound  brother  talks  with 
the  trembling  beginner,  and  asks  profound  questions. 
He  shakes  his  experienced  head,  and  knits  his  furrowed 
brows.  He  goes  into  the  corn-field  to  see  how  the  crops 
are  prospering,  and  though  it  is  early  in  the  year,  he 
laments  that  he  cannot  see  an  ear  of  corn  ;  indeed,  he 
perceives  nothing  but  mere  grass.  "  I  cannot  see  a 
trace  of  corn,"  says  he.  No,  brother,  of  course  you 
cannot  ;  for  you  will  not  be  satisfied  with  the  blade  as 
an  evidence  of  life,  but  must  insist  upon  seeing  every- 
thing at  full  growth  at  once.  If  you  had  looked  for  the 
blade  you  would  have  found  it  ;  and  it  would  have  en- 
couraged you.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  glad  even  to 
perceive  a  faint  desire,  a  feeble  longing,  a  degree  of 
uneasiness,  or  a  measure  of  weariness  of  sin,  or  a  crav- 
ing after  mercy.  Will  it  not  be  wise  for  you,  also,  to 
allow  things  to  begin  at  the  beginning,  and  to  be  satis- 
fied with  their  being  small  at  the  first  ?  See  the  blade 
of  desire,  and  then  watch  for  more.  Soon  you  shall  see  a 
little  more  than  desire  ;  for  there  shall  be  conviction  and 


178  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

resolve,  and  after  that  a  feeble  faith,  small  as  a  mustard 
seed,  but  bound  to  grow.  Do  not  despise  the  day  of 
small  things.  Do  not  examine  the  new-born  babe  to 
see  whether  he  is  sound  in  doctrine  after  your  idea  of 
soundness  ;  ten  to  one  he  is  a  long  way  off  sound,  and 
you  will  only  worry  the  dear  heart  by  introducing 
difficult  questions.  Speak  to  him  about  his  being  a 
sinner,  and  Christ  a  Saviour,  and  you  will  in  this  way 
water  him  so  that  his  grace  in  the  ear  will  become  the 
full  corn  in  the  ear.  It  may  be  that  there  is  not  much 
that  looks  like  wheat  about  him  yet  ;  but  by-and-by  you 
shall  say,  "  Wheat  !  ah,  that  it  is,  if  I  know  wheat. 
This  man  is  a  true  ear  of  corn,  and  gladly  will  I  place 
him  among  my  Master's  sheaves."  If  you  cut  down 
the  blades,  where  will  the  ears  come  from  ?  Expect 
grace  in  your  converts  ;  but  do  not  look  to  see  glory  in 
them  just  yet. 

IV.  Under  the  last  head  we  shall  consider  WHAT 

SLEEP    WORKERS    MAY    TAKE,     AND    WHAT    THEY    MAY    NOT 

TAKE  ;  for  it  is  said  of  this  sowing  man,  that  he  sleeps 
and  rises  night  and  day,  and  the  seed  springs  and  grows 
up  he  knoweth  not  how.  They  say  a  farmer's  trade  is 
a  good  one  because  it  is  going  on  while  he  is  abed  and 
asleep  ;  and  surely  ours  is  a  good  trade,  too,  when  we 
serve  our  Master  by  sowing  good  seed  ;  for  it  is  grow- 
ing ev,en  while  we  are  asleep. 

But  how  may  a  good  workman  for  Christ  lawfully 
go  to  sleep  ?  I  answer,  first,  he  may  sleep  the  sleep  of 
restfulness  born  of  confidence.  You  are  afraid  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  will  not  come,  are  you  ?  Who  asked  you 
to  tremble  for  the  ark  of  the  Lord  ?  Afraid  for  the 
infinite  Jehovah  that  his  purposes  will  fail  ?  Shame  on 


WHAT  THE  FARM  LABORERS  CAN  AND  CANNOT  DO.       1)9 

you!  Your  anxiety  dishonors  your  God.  Shall  Omnip- 
otence be  defeated  ?  You  had  better  sleep  than  wake 
to  play  the  part  of  Uzzah.  Rest  patiently  ;  God's  pur- 
pose will  be  accomplished,  his  kingdom  will  come,  his 
chosen  will  be  saved,  and  Christ  shall  see  of  the  travail 
of  his  soul.  Take  the  sweet  sleep  which  God  gives  to 
his  beloved,  the  sleep  of  perfect  confidence,  such  as  Jesus 
slept  in  the  hinder  part  of  the  ship  when  it  was  tossed 
with  tempest.  The  cause  of  God  never  was  in  jeopardy, 
and  never  will  be  ;  the  seed  sown  is  insured  by  Om- 
nipotence, and  must  produce  its  harvest.  In  patience 
possess  your  soul,  and  wait  till  the  harvest  comes,  for 
the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  must  prosper  in  the  hands  of 
Jesus. 

Also  take  that  sleep  of  joyful  expectancy  which  leads 
to  a  happy  waking.  Get  up  in  the  morning  and  feel 
that  the  Lord  is  ruling  all  things  for  the  attainment  of 
his  own  purposes,  and  the  highest  benefit  of  all  who  put 
their  trust  in  him.  Look  for  a  blessing  by  day,  and 
close  your  eyes  at  night  calmly  expecting  to  meet 
with  better  things  to-morrow.  If  you  do  not  sleep  you 
will  not  wake  up  in  the  morning  refreshed,  and  ready 
for  more  work.  If  it  were  possible  for  you  to  sit  up  all 
night  and  eat  the  bread  of  carefulness  you  would  be  unfit 
to  attend  to  the  service  which  your  Master  appoints  for 
the  morning  ;  therefore  take  your  rest  and  be  at  peace, 
and  work  with  calm  dignity,  for  the  matter  is  safe  in  the 
Lord's  hands.  Is  it  not  written,  "So  he  giveth  his 
beloved  sleep"? 

Take  your  rest  because  you  have  consciously  re- 
signed your  work  into  God's  hands.  After  you  have 
spoken  the  word,  resort  to  God  in  prayer,  and  com- 
mit the  matter  into  God's  hand,  and  then  do  not  fret 


l8o  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

about  it.     It  cannot  be  in  better  keeping,  leave  it  with 
him  who  worketh  all  in  all. 

But  do  not  sleep  the  sleep  of  un watchfulness. 
The  farmer  sows  his  seed,  but  he  does  not  therefore 
forget  it.  He  has  to  mend  his  fences,  to  drive  away 
birds,  to  remove  weeds,  or  to  prevent  floods.  He  does 
not  watch  the  growth  of  the  seed,  but  he  has  plenty  else 
to  do.  He  sleeps,  but  it  is  only  in  due  time  and  meas- 
ure, and  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  sluggard's 
slumbers.  He  never  sleeps  the  sleep  of  indifference,  or 
even  of  inaction,  for  each  season  has  its  demand  upon 
him.  He  has  sown  one  field,  but  he  has  another  to 
sow.  He  has  sown,  but  he  has  also  to  reap  ;  and  if  reap- 
ing is  done,  he  has  to  thresh  and  to  winnow.  A  farmer's 
work  is  never  done,  for  in  one  part  or  the  other  of  the 
farm  he  is  needed.  His  sleep  is  but  a  pause  that  gives 
him  strength  to  continue  his  occupation.  The  parable 
teaches  us  to  do  all  that  lies  within  our  province,  but 
not  to  intrude  into  the  domain  of  God  :  in  teaching  to 
the  era  we  are  to  labor  diligently,  but  with  regard  to 
the  secret  working  of  truth  upon  man's  mind,  we  are 
to  pray  and  rest,  looking  to  the  Lord  for  the  inward 
power. 


THE  SHEEP  BEFORE  THE  SHEARERS. 

"As  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  openeth  not  his  mouth." 
—ISAIAH  53 :  7. 

OUR  Lord  Jesus  so  took  our  place  that  we  are  in 
this  chapter  compared  to  sheep  :  "  All  we  like  sheep 
have  gone  astray,"  and  he  is  compared  to  a  sheep  also — 
"  As  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb. ' '  It  is  wonder- 
ful how  complete  was  the  interchange  of  positions  be- 
tween Christ  and  his  people,  so  that  he  became  what 
they  were  in  order  that  they  might  become  what  he  is. 
We  can  well  understand  how  we  should  be  the  sheep 
and  he  the  shepherd  ;  but  to  liken  the  Son  of  the  High- 
est to  a  sheep  would  have  been  unpardonable  presump- 
tion had  not  his  own  Spirit  employed  the  condescend- 
ing figure. 

Though  the  emblem  is  very  gracious,  its  use  in 
this  place  is  by  no  means  singular,  for  our  Lord  had 
been  before  Isaiah's  day  typified  by  the  lamb  of  the 
Passover.  Since  then  he  has  been  proclaimed  as  "  the 
Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  ;" 
and  indeed  even  in  his  glory  he  is  the  Lamb  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne. 

I.  In  opening  up  this  divine  emblem  I  would  invite 
you  to  consider,  first,  OUR  SAVIOUR'S  PATIENCE,  set  forth 
under  the  figure  of  a  sheep  dumb  before  her  shearers. 


182  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

Our  Lord  was  brought  to  the  shearers  that  he 
might  be  shorn  of  his  comfort,  and  of  his  honor,  shorn 
even  of  his  good  name,  and  shorn  at  last  of  his  life  itself  ; 
but  when  under  the  shearers  he  was  as  silent  as  a  sheep. 
How  patient  he  was  before  Pilate,  and  Herod,  and  Caia- 
phas,  and  on  the  cross  !  You  have  no  record  of  his 
uttering  any  exclamation  of  impatience  at  the  pain  and 
shame  which  he  received  at  the  hands  of  these  wicked 
men.  You  hear  not  one  bitter  word.  Pilate  cries, 
"  Answerest  thou  nothing  ?  Behold  how  many  things 
they  witness  against  thee'';  and  Herod  is  wofully 
disappointed,  for  he  expected  to  see  some  miracle 
wrought  by  him.  All  that  our  Lord  does  say  is  in 
submissive  tones,  like  the  bleating  of  a  sheep,  though 
infinitely  more  full  of  meaning.  He  utters  sentences  like 
these — "  For  this  purpose  was  I  born,  and  came  into  the 
world,  that  I  might  bear  witness  to  the  truth,"  and, 
"  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do."  Otherwise  he  is  all  patience  and  silence. 

Remember,  first,  that  our  Lord  was  dumb  and 
opened  not  his  mouth  against  his  adversaries,  and  did  not 
accuse  one  of  them  of  cruelty  or  injustice.  They  slan- 
dered him,  but  he  replied  not  ;  false  witnesses  arose,  but 
he  answered  them  not.  One  would  have  thought  he  must 
have  spoken  when  they  spat  in  his  face.  Might  he  not 
have  said,  "  Friend,  why  doest  thou  this?  For  which 
of  all  my  works  dost  thou  insult  me  ?"  But  the  time  for 
such  expostulations  was  over.  When  they  smote  him  on 
the  face  with  the  palms  of  their  hands,  it  would  not  have 
been  wonderful  if  he  had  said,  "  Wherefore  do  you 
smite  me  so  ?"  But  no  ;  he  is  as  though  he  heard  not 
their  revilings.  He  brings  no  accusation  to  his  Father. 
He  needed  only  to  have  lifted  his  eye  to  heaven,  and 


THE   SHEEP    BEFORE    THE   SHEARERS.  183 

legions  of  angels  would  have  chased  away  the  ribald 
soldiery  ;  one  flash  of  a  seraph's  wing  and  Herod  had 
been  eaten  by  worms,  and  Pilate  had  died  the  death  he 
well  deserved  as  an  unjust  judge.  The  hill  of  the  cross 
might  have  become  a  volcano's  mouth  to  swallow  up 
the  whole  multitude  who  stood  there  jesting  and  jeering 
at  him  :  but  no,  there  was  no  display  of  power,  or  rather 
there  was  so  great  a  display  of  power  over  himself  that 
he  restrained  Omnipotence  itself  with  a  strength  which 
never  can  be  measured. 

Again,  as  he  did  not  utter  a  word  against  his  adver- 
saries, so  he  did  not  say  a  word  against  any  one  of  us.  You 
remember  how  Zipporah  said  to  Moses,  "  Surely  a  bloody 
husband  art  thou  to  me,"  as  she  saw  her  child  bleeding  ; 
and  surely  Jesus  might  have  said  to  his  church,  "  Thou 
art  a  costly  spouse  to  me,  to  bring  me  all  this  shame 
and  bloodshedding. "  But  he  giveth  liberally,  he  open- 
eth  the  very  fountain  of  his  heart,  and  he  upbraid- 
eth  not.  He  had  reckoned  on  the  uttermost  expendi- 
ture, and  therefore  he  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame. 

"  This  was  compassion  like  a  God, 
That  when  the  Saviour  knew, 
The  price  of  pardon  was  his  blood, 
His  pity  ne'er  withdrew.  " 

No  doubt  he  looked  across  the  ages  ;  for  that  eye 
of  his  was  not  dim,  even  when  bloodshot  on  the  tree  : 
he  must  have  foreseen  your  indifference  and  mine,  our 
coldness  of  heart,  and  base  unfaithfulness,  and  he  might 
have  left  on  record  some  such  words  as  these  :  "  I  am 
suffering  for  those  who  are  utterly  unworthy  of  my  re- 
gard ;  their  love  will  be  a  miserable  return  for  mine. 
Though  I  give  my  whole  heart  for  them,  how  lukewarm 


184  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

is  their  love  to  me  !  I  am  sick  of  them,  I  am  weary  of 
them,  and  it  is  woe  to  me  that  I  should  be  laying  down 
my  heart's  blood  for  such  a  worthless  race  as  these  my 
people  are."  But  there  is  not  a  hint  of  such  a  feeling. 
No.  "  Having  loved  his  own  which  were  in  the  world, 
he  loved  them  unto  the  end,"  and  he  did  not  utter  a 
syllable  that  looked  like  murmuring  at  his  suffering  on 
their  behalf,  or  regretting  that  he  had  commenced  the 
work. 

And  again,  as  there  was  not  a  word  against  his 
adversaries,  nor  a  word  against  you  nor  me,  so  their 
was  not  a  word  against  his  Father,  nor  a  syllable  of 
repining  at  the  severity  of  the  chastisement  laid  upon 
him  for  our  sakes.  You  and  I  have  murmured  when 
under  a  comparatively  light  grief,  thinking  ourselves 
hardly  done  by.  We  have  dared  to  cry  out  against 
God,  "  My  face  is  foul  with  weeping,  and  on  my  eye- 
lids is  the  shadow  of  death  ;  not  for  any  injustice  in 
mine  hands  :  also  my  prayer  is  pure."  But  not  so  the 
Saviour  ;  in  his  mouth  were  no  complaints.  It  is  quite 
impossible  for  us  to  conceive  how  the  Father  pressed 
and  bruised  him,  yet  was  there  no  repining.  "  My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  is  an  exclamation 
of  astonished  grief,  but  it  is  not  the  voice  of  complaint. 
It  shows  manhood  in  weakness,  but  not  manhood  in 
revolt.  Many  are  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  but 
few  are  the  lamentations  of  Jesus.  Jesus  wept,  and 
Jesus  sweat  great  drops  of  blood,  but  he  never  murmur- 
ed nor  felt  rebellion  in  his  heart. 

Behold  your  Lord  and  Saviour  lying  in  passive 
resignation  beneath  the  shearers,  as  they  take  away 
everything  that  is  dear  to  him,  and  yet  he  openeth  not 
his  mouth.  I  see  in  this  our  Lord's  complete  submission. 


THE   SHEEP   BEFORE   THE   SHEARERS.  185 

He  gives  himself  up  ;  there  is  no  reserve  about  it.  The 
sacrifice  did  not  need  binding  with  cords  to  the  horns 
of  the  altar.  How  different  from  your  case  and  mine  ! 
lie  .stood  there  willing  to  suffer,  to  be  spit  upon,  to  be 
shamefully  entreated,  and  to  die,  for  in  him  there  was  a 
( umplete  surrender.  He  was  wholly  given  to  do  the 
Father's  will,  and  to  work  out  our  redemption.  There 
was  complete  self-conquest  too.  In  him  no  faculty  arose 
to  plead  for  liberty,  and  ask  to  be  exempted  from  the 
general  strain  ;  no  limb  of  the  body,  no  portion  of  the 
mind,  no  faculty  of  the  spirit  started,  but  all  submitted 
to  the  divine  will  :  the  whole  Christ  gave  up  his  whole 
being  unto  God,  that  he  might  perfectly  offer  himself 
without  spot  for  our  redemption. 

There  was  not  only  self-conquest,  but  complete  absorp- 
tion in  his  work.  The  sheep,  lying  there,  thinks  no  more 
of  the  pastures,  it  yields  itself  up  to  the  shearer.  The 
zeal  of  God's  house  did  eat  up  our  Lord  in  Pilate's 
hall  as  well  as  everywhere  else,  for  there  he  witnessed  a 
good  confession.  No  thought  had  he  but  for  the  clear- 
ing of  the  divine  honor,  and  the  salvation  of  God's 
elect.  Brethren,  I  wish  we  could  arrive  at  this,  to  sub- 
mit our  whole  spirit  to  God,  to  learn  self-conquest,  and 
the  delivering  up  of  conquered  self  entirely  to  God. 

The  wonderful  serenity  and  submissiveness  of  our 
Lord  are  still  better  set  forth  by  our  text,  if  it  be  indeed 
true  that  sheep  in  the  East  are  even  more  docile  than 
with  us.  Those  who  have  seen  the  noise  and  roughness 
of  many  of  our  washings  and  shearings  will  hardly  believe 
the  testimony  of  that  ancient  writer  Philo-Judaeus  when 
he  affirms  that  the  sheep  came  voluntarily  to  be  shorn. 
He  says  :  "  Woolly  rams  laden  with  thick  fleeces  put 
themselves  into  the  shepherd's  hands  to  have  their  wool 


1 86  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

shorn,  being  thus  accustomed  to  pay  their  yearly  tribute 
to  man,  their  king  by  nature.  The  sheep  stands  in  a 
silent  inclining  posture,  unconstrained  under  the  hand 
of  the  shearer.  These  things  may  appear  strange  to 
those  who  do  not  know  the  docility  of  the  sheep,  but 
they  are  true."  Marvellous  indeed  was  this  submis- 
siveness  in  our  Lord's  case  ;  let  us  admire  and  imitate. 

II.  Thus  I  have  feebly  set  forth  the  patience  of  our 
beloved  Master.  Now  I  want  you  to  follow  me,  in  the 
second  place,  to  VIEW  OUR  OWN  CASE  UNDER  THE  SAME 
METAPHOR  AS  THAT  WHICH  IS  USED  IN  REFERENCE  TO  OUR 
LORD. 

Did  I  not  begin  by  saying  that  because  we  were 
sheep  he  deigns  to  compare  himself  to  a  sheep  ?  Let 
us  look  from  another  point  of  view  ;  our  Lord  was  a 
sheep  under  the  shearers,  and  as  he  is  so  are  we  also  in 
this  world.  Though  we  shall  never  be  offered  up  like 
lambs  in  the  temple  by  way  of  expiation,  yet  the  saints 
for  ages  were  the  flock  of  slaughter,  as  it  is  written, 
"  For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day  long,  we  are  ac- 
counted as  sheep  for  the  slaughter  !"  Jesus  sends  us 
forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves,  and  we  are  to  re- 
gard ourselves  as  living  sacrifices,  ready  to  be  offered 
up.  I  dwell,  however,  more  particularly  upon  the  sec- 
ond symbol  :  we  are  brought  as  sheep  under  the  shear- 
ers' hands. 

Just  as  a  sheep  is  taken  by  the  shearer,  and  its  wool  is 
all  cut  off,  so  doth  the  Lord  take  his  people  and  shear 
them,  taking  away  all  their  earthly  comforts,  and  leav- 
ing them  bare.  I  wish  when  it  came  to  our  turn  to  un- 
dergo this  shearing  operation  it  could  be  said  of  us  as  of 
our  Lord,  "  As  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb, 


THE   SHEEP    BEFORE    THE    SHEARERS.  187 


so  fr<fi  opbheth  not  his  mouth."  I  fear  that  we  open  our 
mouths  a  great  deal,  and  make  no  end  of  complaining 
without  any  apparent  cause,  or  with  the  very  slenderest 
reason.  But  now  to  the  figure. 

First,  remember  that  a  sheep  rewards  its  owner  for  all 
his  care  and  trouble  by  being  shorn.  There  is  nothing  else 
that  I  know  of  that  a  sheep  can  do.  It  yields  food  when 
it  is  killed,  but  while  it  is  alive  the  one  payment  that 
the  sheep  can  make  to  the  shepherd  is  to  yield  its  fleece 
in  due  season.  Some  of  God's  people  can  give  to  Christ 
a  tribute  of  gratitude  by  active  service,  and  they  should 
do  so  gladly  every  day  of  their  lives  ;  but  many  others 
cannot  do  much  in  active  service,  and  about  the  only 
reward  they  can  give  to  their  Lord  is  to  render  up  their 
fleece  by  suffering  when  he  calls  upon  them  to  suffer, 
submissively  yielding  to  be  shorn  of  their  personal  com- 
fort when  the  time  comes  for  patient  endurance. 

Here  comes  the  shearer  ;  he  takes  the  sheep  and  be- 
gins to  cut,  cut,  cut,  cut,  'taking  away  the  wool  whole- 
sale. Affliction  is  often  used  as  the  big  shears.  The 
husband,  or  perhaps  the  wife,  is  removed,  little  children 
are  taken  away,  property  is  shorn  off,  and  health  is 
gone.  Sometimes  the  shears  cut  off  the  man's  good 
name  ;  slander  follows  ;  comforts  vanish.  Well,  this  is 
your  shearing  time,  and  it  may  be  that  you  are  not  able 
to  glorify  God  to  any  very  large  extent  except  by  under- 
going this  process.  If  this  be  the  fact,  do  you  not  think 
that  we,  like  good  sheep  of  Christ,  should  surrender 
ourselves  cheerfully,  feeling,  "  I  lay  myself  down  with 
this  intent,  that  thou  shouldst  take  from  me  anything 
and  everything,  and  do  what  thou  wilt  with  me  ;  for  I 
am  not  mine  own,  I  am  bought  with  a  price"? 

Notice  that  the  sheep  is  itself  benefited  by  the  operation 


1 88  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

of  shearing.  Before  they  begin  to  shear  the  sheep  the 
wool  is  long  and  old,  and  every  bush  and  brier  tears  off 
a  bit  of  the  wool,  until  the  sheep  looks  ragged  and 
forlorn. 

If  the  wool  were  left,  when  the  heat  of  summer  came 
the  sheep  would  not  be  able  to  bear  itself,  it  would  be 
so  overloaded  with  clothing  that  it  would  be  as  uncom- 
fortable as  we  are  when  we  have  kept  on  our  borrowed 
wool,  our  flannels  and  broadcloths,  too  late.  So,  breth- 
ren, when  the  Lord  shears  us,  we  do  not  like  the  opera- 
tion any  more  than  the  sheep  do  ;  but  first,  it  is  for  his 
glory ;  and  secondly,  it  is  for  our  benefit,  and  therefore 
we  are  bound  most  willingly  to  submit.  There  are  many 
things  which  we  should  have  liked  to  have  kept  which,  if 
we  had  kept  them,  would  not  have  proved  blessings  but 
curses.  A  stale  blessing  is  a  curse.  The  manna,  though 
it  came  from  heaven,  was  only  good  so  long  as  God's 
command  made  it  a  blessing,  but  when  they  kept  it  over 
its  due  time  it  bred  worms  and  stank,  and  then  it  was 
no  blessing.  Many  persons  would  keep  their  mercies 
till  they  turn  to  corruption  ;  but  God  will  not  have  it  so. 
Up  to  a  certain  point  for  you  to  be  wealthy  was  a  bless- 
ing ;  it  would  not  have  been  a  blessing  any  longer,  and 
so  the  Lord  took  your  riches  away.  Up  to  that  point 
your  child  was  a  boon,  but  it  would  have  been  no  longer 
so,  and  therefore  it  fell  sick  and  died.  You  may  not  be 
able  to  see  it,  but  it  is  so,  that  God,  when  he  withdraws 
a  blessing  from  his  people,  takes  it  away  because  it 
would  not  be  a  blessing  any  longer. 

Before  sheep  are  shorn  they  are  always  washed.  Were 
you  ever  present  at  the  scene  when  they  drive  them 
down  to  the  brook  ?  Men  are  placed  in  rows,  leading 
to  the  shepherd  who  stands  in  the  water.  The  sheep 


THE    SHEEP    BEFORE    THE    SHEARERS.  l8g 

are  driven  down,  and  the  men  seize  them,  throw 
them  into  the  pool,  keeping  their  faces  above  water, 
and  swirl  them  round  and  round  and  round  to 
wash  the  wool  before  they  clip  it  off.  You  see 
them  come  out  on  the  other  side  frightened  to  death, 
poor  things,  wondering  whatever  is  coming.  I  want 
to  suggest  to  you,  brethren,  that  whenever  a  trial 
threatens  to  overtake  you,  you  should  entreat  the  Lord 
to  sanctify  it  to  you.  If  the  good  Shepherd  is  going  to 
clip  your  wool,  ask  him  to  wash  it  before  he  takes  it  off  ; 
ask  to  be  cleansed  in  spirit,  soul,  and  body.  That  is  a 
very  good  custom  Christian  people  have  of  asking  a 
blessing  on  their  meals  before  they  eat  bread.  Do  you 
not  think  it  is  even  more  necessary  to  ask  a  blessing  on 
our  troubles  before  we  get  into  them  ?  Here  is  your 
dear  child  likely  to  die  ;  will  you  not,  dear  parents, 
meet  together  and  ask  God  to  bless  the  death  of  that 
child,  if  it  is  to  happen  ?  The  harvest  fails  ;  would  it  not 
be  well  to  say — "  Lord,  sanctify  this  poverty,  this  loss, 
this  year's  bad  harvest  :  cause  it  to  be  a  means  of  grace 
to  us."  Why  not  ask  a  blessing  on  the  cup  of  bitterness 
as  well  as  upon  the  cup  of  thanksgiving  ?  Ask  to  be 
washed  before  you  are  shorn,  and  if  the  shearing  must 
come,  let  it  be  your  chief  concern  to  yield  clean  wool. 

After  the  washing,  when  the  sheep  has  been  dried, 
it  actually  loses  what  was  its  comfort.  The  sheep  is  thrown 
down,  and  the  shearers  get  to  work  ;  the  poor  creature 
is  losing  its  comfortable  fleece.  You  also  will  have  to 
part  with  your  comforts.  Will  you  recollect  this  ? 
The  next  time  you  receive  a  fresh  blessing  call  it  a 
loan.  Poor  sheep,  there  is  no  wool  on  your  back  but 
what  will  have  to  come  off  ;  child  of  God,  there  is  no 
earthly  comfort  in  your  possession  but  what  will  either 


190  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

leave  you,  or  you  will  leave  it.  Nothing  is  our  own 
except  our  God.  "  Why,"  says  one,  "  not  our  sin  ?  " 
Sin  was  our  own,  but  Jesus  has  taken  it  upon  himself, 
and  it  is  gone.  There  is  nothing  our  own  but  our  God, 
for  all  his  gifts  are  held  on  lease,  terminable  at  his 
sovereign  will.  We  foolishly  consider  that  our  mercies 
belong  to  us,  and  when  the  Lord  takes  them  away  we 
half  grumble.  A  loan,  they  say,  should  go  laughing 
home,  and  so  should  we  rejoice  when  the  Lord  takes  back 
that  which  he  had  lent  us.  All  our  possessions  are  but 
brief  favors  borrowed  for  the  hour.  As  the  sheep  yields 
up  its  wool  and  so  loses  its  comfort,  so  must  we  yield 
up  all  our  earthly  properties  ;  or  if  they  remain  with  us 
till  we  die,  we  shall  part  with  them  then,  we  shall  not 
take  so  much  as  one  of  them  across  the  stream  of  death. 
The  shearers  take  care  not  to  hurt  the  sheep  j  they  clip 
as  close  as  they  can,  but  they  do  not  cut  the  skin.  If 
possible,  they  will  not  draw  bood,  even  in  the  smallest 
degree.  When  they  do  make  a  gash,  it  is  because  the 
sheep  does  not  lie  still  ;  but  a  careful  shearer  has  blood- 
less shears.  Of  this  Thomson  sings  in  his  "  Seasons," 
and  the  passage  is  so  good  an  illustration  of  the  whole 
subject  that  I  will  adorn  my  discourse  with  it  : 

"  How  meek,  how  patient,  the  mild  creature  lies  1 
What  softness  in  its  melancholy  face, 
What  dumb  complaining  innocence  appears  ! 
Fear  not,  ye  gentle  tribes  !  'tis  not  the  knife 
Of  horrid  slaughter  that  is  o'er  you  waved  ; 
No,  'tis  the  tender  swain's  well  guided  shears, 
Who  having  now,  to  pay  his  annual  care, 
Borrow'd  your  fleece,  to  you  a  cumbrous  load, 
Will  send  you  bounding  to  your  hills  again." 

It  is  the  kicking  and  the  struggling  that  make  the 
shearing  work  at  all  hard,  but  if  we  are  dumb  before 


THE    SHEEP    BEFORE    THE    SHEARERS.  ipl 

the  shearers  no  harm  can  come.  The  Lord  may  clip 
wonderfully  close  ;  I  have  known  him  clip  some  so  close 
that  they  did  not  seem  to  have  a  bit  of  wool  left,  for 
they  were  stripped  entirely,  even  as  Job  when  he  cried, 
"  Naked  came  I  out  of  my  mother's  womb,  and  naked 
shall  I  return  thither."  Still,  like  Job,  they  have  added, 
"  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ; 
blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

Notice  that  the  shearers  always  shear  at  a  suitable 
time.  It  would  be  a  very  wicked,  cruel,  and  unwise 
thing  to  begin  sheep-shearing  in  winter  time.  There  is  a 
proverb  which  talks  about  God  "  tempering  the  wind  to 
the  shorn  lamb."  It  may  be  so,  but  it  is  a  very  cruel 
practice  to  shear  lambs  while  winds  need  tempering. 
Sheep  are  shorn  when  it  is  warm,  genial  weather,  when 
they  can  afford  to  lose  their  fleeces,  and  are  all  the 
better  for  being  relieved  of  them.  As  the  summer  comes 
on  sheep-shearing  time  comes.  Have  you  ever  noticed 
that  whenever  the  Lord  afflicts  us  he  selects  the  best 
possible  time  ?  There  is  a  prayer  that  he  puts  into  his 
disciples'  mouths,  "  Pray  that  your  flight  be  not  in  the 
winter  ;"  the  spirit  of  that  prayer  may  be  seen  in  the 
seasonableness  of  our  sorrows.  He  will  not  send  us  our 
worst  troubles  at  our  worst  times.  If  your  soul  is  de- 
pressed the  Lord  does  not  send  you  a  very  heavy  burden  ; 
he  reserves  such  a  load  for  times  when  you  have  joy  in 
the  Lord  to  be  your  strength.  It  has  come  to  be  a  kind 
of  feeling  with  us  that  when  we  have  much  delight  a 
trial  is  near,  but  when  sorrow  thickens  deliverance  is 
approaching.  The  Lord  does  not  send  us  two  burdens 
at  a  time  ;  or,  if  he  does,  he  sends  double  strength. 
His  shearing  time  is  chosen  with  tender  discretion. 

There  is  another  thing  to  remember.     It  is  with  us 


192  TALKS    TO   FARMERS. 

as  with  the  sheep,  there  is  new  wool  coming.  Whenever 
the  Lord  takes  away  our  earthly  comforts  with  one 
hand,  one,  two,  three,  he  restores  with  the  other  hand 
six,  a  score,  a  hundred  ;  we  are  crying  and  whining 
about  the  little  loss,  and  yet  it  is  necessary  in  order  that 
we  may  be  able  to  receive  the  great  gain.  Yes,  it  will 
be  so,  we  shall  have  cause  for  rejoicing,  "joy  cometh 
in  the  morning."  If  we  have  lost  one  position,  there  is 
another  for  us  ;  if  we  have  been  driven  out  of  one 
place,  a  better  refuge  is  prepared.  Providence  opens  a 
second  door  when  it  shuts  the  first.  If  the  Lord  takes 
away  the  manna,  as  he  did  from  his  people  Israel,  it  is 
because  they  have  the  old  corn  of  the  land  of  Canaan 
to  live  upon.  If  the  water  of  the  rock  did  not  follow 
the  tribes  any  longer,  it  was  because  they  drank  of  the 
Jordan,  and  of  the  brooks.  O  sheep  of  the  Lord's  fold, 
there  is  new  wool  coming  :  therefore  do  not  fret  at  the 
shearing.  I  have  given  these  thoughts  in  brief,  that  we 
may  come  to  the  last  word. 

III.  Let  us,  in  the  third  place,  endeavor  to  IMITATE 

THE  EXAMPLE  OF  OUR  BLESSED  LORD  WHEN  OUR  TURN  COMES 

TO  BE  SHORN.  Let  us  be  dumb  before  the  shearers,  sub- 
missive, quiescent,  even  as  he  was. 

I  have  been  giving,  in  everything  I  have  said,  a 
reason  for  so  doing.  I  have  shown  that  our  shear- 
ing by  affliction  glorifies  God,  rewards  the  Shepherd, 
and  benefits  ourselves.  I  have  shown  that  the  Lord 
measures  and  tempers  our  affliction,  and  sends  the  trial 
at  the  right  time.  I  have  shown  you  in  many  ways  that 
it  will  be  wise  to  submit  ourselves  as  the  sheep  does  to 
the  shearer,  and  that  the  more  completely  we  do  so  the 
better. 


THE   SHEEP    BEFORE   THE    SHEARERS.  193 

We  struggle  far  too  much,  and  we  are  apt  to  make 
excuses  for  so  doing.  Sometimes  we  say,  "  Oh,  this  is 
so  painful,  I  cannot  be  patient  !  I  could  have  borne  any- 
thing else  but  this."  When  a  father  is  going  to  cor- 
rect his  child,  does  he  select  something  pleasant  ?  No. 
The  painfulness  of  the  punishment  is  the  essence  of  it, 
and  even  so  the  bitterness  of  our  sorrow  is  the  soul  of  our 
chastening.  By  the  blueness  of  the  wound  the  heart 
will  be  made  better.  Do  not  repine  because  your  trial 
seems  strange  and  sharp.  That  would  in  fact  be  saying, 
"  If  I  have  it  all  my  own  way  I  will,  but  if  everything 
does  not  please  me  I  will  rebel  ;"  and  that  is  not  a  fit 
spirit  for  a  child  of  God. 

Sometimes  we  complain  because  of  our  great  weak- 
ness. "  Lord,  were  I  stronger  I  would  not  mind  this 
heavy  loss  ;  but  I  am  frail  as  a  sere  leaf  driven  of  the 
tempest."  But  who  is  to  be  the  judge  of  the  suitability 
of  your  trial  ?  You  or  God  ?  Since  the  Lord  judges  this 
trial  to  be  suitable  to  your  weakness,  you  may  be  sure 
that  it  is  so.  Lie  still !  Lie  still!  "Alas,"  you  say, 
"  my  grief  comes  from  the  most  cruel  quarter  ;  this 
trouble  did  not  arise  directly  from  God,  it  came  through 
my  cousin  or  my  brother  who  ought  to  have  treated  me 
with  gratitude.  It  was  not  an  enemy  ;  then  I  could 
have  borne  it."  My  brother,  let  me  assure  you  that  in 
reality  trial  comes  not  from  an  enemy  after  all.  God  is 
at  the  bottom  of  all  your  tribulation  ;  look  through  the 
second  causes  to  the  great  First  Cause.  It  is  a  great 
mistake  when  we  fret  over  the  human  instrument  which 
smites  us,  and  forget  the  hand  which  uses  the  rod.  If 
I  strike  a  dog,  he  bites  my  stic^  ;  poor  creature,  he 
knows  no  better  ;  but  if  he  could  think  a  little  he  would 
bite  me,  or  else  take  the  blow  submissively.  Now,  you 


194  TALKS  TO   FARMERS; 

must  not  begin  biting  the  stick.  After  all,  it  is  youf 
heavenly  Father  that  uses  the  staff  ;  though  it  be  of 
ebony  or  of  blackthorn,  it  is  in  his  hand.  It  is  well  to 
have  done  with  picking  and  choosing  our  trials,  and 
to  leave  the  whole  matter  in  the  hand  of  infinite  wisdom. 
A  sweet  singer  has  put  this  matter  very  prettily  ;  let 
me  quote  the  lines  : 

"  But  when  my  Lord  did  ask  me  on  what  side 

I  were  content, 

The  grief  whereby  I  must  be  purified, 
To  me  was  sent, 

"As  each  imagined  anguish  did  appear, 

Each  withering  bliss 

Before  my  soul,  I  cried,  '  Oh  !  spare  me  here, 
Oh,  no,  not  this  !  ' 

"  Like  one  that  having  need  of,  deep  within, 

The  surgeon's  knife, 

Would  hardly  bear  that  it  should  graze  the  skin, 
Though  for  his  life. 

"  Nay,  then,  but  he,  who  best  doth  understand 

Both  what  we  need, 

And  what  can  bear,  did  take  my  case  in  hand, 
Nor  crying  heed.  " 

This  is  the  pith  of  my  sermon  :  oh,  believer,  yield 
thyself  !  Lie  passive  in  the  hands  of  God  !  Yield  thee, 
and  struggle  not  !  There  is  no  use  in  struggling,  for  our 
great  Shearer,  if  he  means  to  shear,  will  do  it.  Did  1 
not  say  just  now  that  the  sheep,  by  struggling,  might 
be  cut  by  the  shears  ?  So  you  and  I,  if  we  struggle 
against  God,  will  get  two  strokes  instead  of  one  ;  and 
after  all  there  is  not  half  so  much  trouble  in  a  trouble 
as  there  is  in  kicking  against  the  trouble.  The  Eastern 
ploughman  has  a  goad,  and  pricks  the  ox  to  make  it  move 
more  actively  ;  he  does  not  hurt  it  much  by  his  gentle 


THE    SHEEP    BEFORE    THE    SHEARERS.  19$ 

prodding,  but  suppose  the  ox  flings  out  its  leg  the 
moment  it  touches  him,  he  drives  the  goad  into  himself, 
and  bleeds.  So  it  is  with  us,  we  shall  find  it  hard  to 
kick  against  the  pricks  ;  we  shall  endure  much  more 
pain  by  rebelling  than  would  have  come  if  we  had  yield- 
ed to  the  divine  will.  What  good  comes  of  fretting  ? 
We  cannot  make  one  hair  white  or  black.  You  that  are 
troubled,  rest  with  us,  for  you  cannot  make  shower  or 
shine,  foul  or  fair,  with  all  your  groaning.  Did  you 
ever  bring  a  penny  into  the  till  by  fretting,  or  put  a  loaf 
on  the  table  by  complaint  ?  Murmuring  is  wasted 
breath,  and  fretting  is  wasted  time.  To  lie  passive  in 
the  hand  of  God  brings  a  blessing  to  the  soul.  I  would 
myself  be  more  quiet,  calm,  and  self-possessed.  I  long 
to  cry  habitually,  "  Lord,  do  what  thou  wilt,  when  thou 
wilt,  as  thou  wilt,  with  me,  thy  servant  ;  appoint  me 
honor  or  dishonor,  wealth  or  poverty,  sickness  or  health, 
exhilaration  or  depression,  and  I  will  take  all  right 
gladly  from  thy  hand."  A  man  is  not  far  from  the 
gates  of  heaven  when  he  is  fully  submissive  to  the 
Lord's  will. 

You  that  have  been  shorn  have,  I  hope,  received 
comfort  through  the  ever  blessed  Spirit  of  God.  May 
God  bless  you.  Oh  that  the  sinner,  too,  would  humble 
himself  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God  !  Submit 
yourselves  unto  God,  let  every  thought  be  brought  into 
captivity  to  him,  and  the  Lord  send  his  blessing,  for 
Christ's  sake.  Amen. 


IN  THE  HAY-FIELD. 

"  He  causeth  the  grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle.  " — PSALM  104  : 14. 

AT  the  appointed  season  all  the  world  is  busy  with 
ingathering  the  grass  crop,  and  you  can  scarcely  ride  a 
mile  in  the  country  without  scenting  the  delicious  fra- 
grance of  the  new-mown  hay,  and  hearing  the  sharpen- 
ing of  the  mower's  scythe.  There  is  a  gospel  in  the 
hay-field,  and  that  gospel  we  intend  to  bring  out  as  we 
may  be  enabled  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Our  text  conducts  us  at  once  to  the  spot,  and  we 
shall  therefore  need  no  preface.  "  He  causeth  the  grass 
to  grow  for  the  cattle  "—three  things  we  shall  notice  ; 
first,  that  grass  is  in  itself  instructive  ;  secondly,  that  grass 
is  far  more  so  when  God  is  seen  in  it  j  and  thirdly,  that  by 
the  growth  of  grass  for  the  cattle \  the  ways  of  grace  may  be 
illustrated. 

I.  First,  then,  "  He  causeth  the  grass  to  grow  for 
the  cattle."  Here  we  have  SOMETHING  WHICH  is  IN  IT- 
SELF INSTRUCTIVE.  Scarcely  any  emblem,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  water  and  light,  is  more  frequently  used  by 
inspiration  than  the  grass  of  the  field. 

In  the  first  place,  the  grass  may  be  instructively 
looked  upon  as  the  symbol  of  our  mortality.  "  All  flesh  is 
grass."  The  whole  history  of  man  may  be  seen  in  the 
meadow.  He  springs  up  green  and  tender,  subject  to 


IN    THE    HAY-FIELD.  197 

the  frosts  of  infancy,  which  imperil  his  young  life  ;  he 
grows,  he  comes  to  maturity,  he  puts  on  beauty  even  as 
the  grass  is  adorned  with  flowers  ;  but  after  a  while  his 
strength  departs  and  his  beauty  is  wrinkled,  even  as 
the  grass  withers  and  is  followed  by  a  fresh  generation, 
which  withers  in  its  turn.  Like  ourselves,  the  grass 
ripens  but  to  decay.  The  sons  of  men  come  to  matu- 
rity in  due  time,  and  then  decline  and  wither  as  the 
green  herb.  Some  of  the  grass  is  not  left  to  come  to 
ripeness  at  all,  but  the  mower's  scythe  removes  it,  even 
as  swift-footed  death  overtakes  the  careless  children 
of  Adam.  "  In  the  morning  it  flourisheth,  and  groweth 
up  ;  in  the  evening  it  is  cut  down,  and  withereth.  For 
we  are  consumed  by  thine  anger,  and  by  thy  wrath  are 
we  troubled."  "  As  for  man,  his  days  are  as  grass  : 
as  a  flower  of  the  field,  so  he  flourisheth.  For  the  wind 
passeth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone  ;  and  the  place  thereof 
shall  know  it  no  more."  This  is  very  h  i.-nbling  ;  and 
we  need  frequently  to  be  reminded  of  it,  or  we  dream 
of  immortality  beneath  the  stars.  We  ought  never  to 
tread  upon  the  grass  without  remembering  that  whereas 
the  green  sod  covers  our  graves,  it  also  reminds  us  of 
them,  and  preaches  by  every  blade  a  sermon  to  us  con- 
cerning our  mortality,  of  which  the  text  is,  "  All  flesh 
is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof  is  as  the  flower 
of  the  field." 

In  the  second  place,  grass  is  frequently  used  in 
Scripture  as  an  emblem  of  the  wicked.  David  tells  us  from 
his  own  experience  that  the  righteous  man  is  apt  to 
grow  envious  of  the  wicked  when  he  sees  the  prosperity 
of  the  ungodly.  We  have  seen  them  spreading  them- 
selves like  green  bay  trees,  and  apparently  fixed  and 
rooted  in  their  places  ;  and  when  we  have  smarted  under 


198  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

our  own  troubles,  and  felt  that  all  the  day  long  we  were 
scourged,  and  chastened  every  morning,  we  have  been 
apt  to  say,  "  How  can  this  be  consistent  with  the  right- 
eous government  of  God  ?"  We  are  reminded  by  the 
Psalmist  that  in  a  short  time  we  shall  pass  by  the  place 
of  the  wicked,  and  lo,  he  shall  not  be;  we  shall  diligently 
consider  his  place,  and  lo,  it  shall  not  be  ;  for  he  is  soon 
cut  down  as  the  grass,  and  withereth  as  the  green  herb. 
The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  thereof  fadeth  away, 
and  even  so  shall  pass  away  forever  the  glory  of  those 
who  build  upon  the  estate  of  time,  and  dig  for  lasting 
comfort  in  the  mines  of  the  earth.  As  the  Eastern  hus- 
bandman gathers  up  the  green  herb,  and,  despite  its 
former  beauty,  casts  it  into  the  furnace,  such  must  be 
your  lot,  O  vainglorious  sinners  !  Thus  will  the  judge 
command  his  angels,  "  Bind  them  in  bundles  to  burn." 
Where  now  your  merriment  ?  Where  now  your  confi- 
dence ?  Where  now  your  pride  and  your  pomp  ?  Where 
now  your  boastings  and  your  loud-mouthed  blasphe- 
mies ?  They  are  silent  for  ever  ;  for,  as  thorns  crackle 
under  a  pot,  but  are  speedily  consumed,  and  leave 
nothing  except  a  handful  of  ashes,  so  shall  it  be  with  the 
wicked  as  to  this  life  ;  the  fire  of  God's  wrath  shall  de- 
vour them. 

It  is  more  pleasing  to  recollect  that  the  grass  is  used 
in  Scripture  as  a  picture  of  the  elect  of  God.  The  wicked 
are  comparable  to  the  dragons  of  the  wilderness,  but 
God's  own  people  shall  spring  up  in  their  place,  for  it 
is  written,  "  In  the  habitation  of  dragons,  where  each 
lay,  shall  be  grass  with  reeds  and  rushes."  The  elect  are 
compared  to  grass,  because  of  their  number  as  they  shall 
be  in  the  latter  days,  and  because  of  the  rapidity  of  their 
growth.  You  remember  the  passage,  "  There  shall  be  a 


IN    THE    HAY-FIELD  199 

handful  of  corn  in  the  earth  upon  tne  top  of  the  moun- 
tains :  the  fruit  thereof  shall  shake  like  Lebanon  :  and 
they  of  the  city  shall  flourish  like  grass  of  the  earth." 
O  that  the  long  expected  day  might  soon  come,  when 
God's  people  shall  no  longer  be  like  a  lone  tuft  of  grass, 
but  when  they  shall  spring  up  as  among  the  grass,  as 
"  willows  by  the  watercourses."  Grass  and  willows  are 
two  of  the  fastest  growing  things  we  know  of  ;  so  shall 
a  nation  be  born  in  a  day,  so  shall  crowds  be  converted 
at  once  ;  for  when  the  Spirit  of  God  shall  be  mightily 
at  work  in  the  midst  of  the  church,  men  shall  fly  unto 
Christ  as  doves  fly  to  their  dovecots,  so  that  the  aston- 
ished church  shall  exclaim,  "  These,  where  had  they 
been  ?"  O  that  we  might  live  to  see  the  age  of  gold, 
the  time  which  prophets  have  foretold,  when  the  com- 
pany of  God's  people  shall  be  innumerable  as  the  blades 
of  grass  in  the  meadows,  and  grace  and  truth  shall 
flourish. 

How  like  the  grass  are  God's  people  for  this  reason, 
that  they  are  absolutely  dependent  upon  the  influences 
of  heaven  !  Our  fields  are  parched  if  vernal  showers 
and  gentle  dews  are  withheld,  and  what  are  our  souls 
without  the  gracious  visitations  of  the  Spirit  ?  Some- 
times through  severe  trials  our  wounded  hearts  are  like 
the  mown  grass,  and  then  we  have  the  promise,  "  He 
shall  come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass  ;  as 
showers  that  water  the  earth."  Our  sharp  troubles 
have  taken  away  our  beauty,  and  lo,  the  Lord  visits  us, 
and  we  revive  again.  Thank  God  for  that  old  saying, 
which  is  a  gracious  doctrine  as  well  as  a  true  proverb, 
"  Each  blade  of  grass  has  its  own  drop  of  dew."  God 
is  pleased  to  give  his  own  peculiar  mercies  to  each  one 
of  his  own  servants.  "  Thy  blessing  is  upon  thy  people." 


200  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

Once  again,  grass  is  comparable  to  the  food  where- 
with the  Lord  supplies  the  necessities  of  his  chosen  ones.  Take 
the  twenty-third  Psalm,  and  you  have  the  metaphor 
worked  out  in  the  sweetest  form  of  pastoral  song  :  "  He 
ma;keth  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures  :  he  leadeth 
me  beside  the  still  waters."  Just  as  the  sheep  has 
nourishment  according  to  its  nature,  and  this  nourish- 
ment is  abundantly  found  for  it  by  its  shepherd,  so  that 
it  not  only  feeds,  but  then  lies  down  in  the  midst  of 
the  fodder,  satiated  with  plenty,  and  perfectly  content 
and  at  ease  ;  even  so  are  the  people  of  God  when  Jesus 
Christ  leads  them  into  the  pastures  of  the  covenant, 
and  opens  up  to  them  the  precious  truths  upon  which 
their  souls  shall  be  fed.  Beloved,  have  we  not  proved 
that  promise  true,  "  In  this  mountain  shall  the  Lord  of 
hosts  make  unto  all  people  a  feast  of  fat  things,  a  feast 
of  wines  on  the  lees,  of  fat  things  full  of  marrow,  of 
wines  on  the  lees  well  refined"?  My  soul  has  some- 
times fed  upon  Christ  till  I  have  felt  as  if  I  could  re- 
ceive no  more,  and  then  I  have  laid  me  down  in  the 
bounty  of  my  God  to  take  my  rest,  satisfied  with  favor, 
and  full  of  the  goodness  of  the  Lord. 

Thus,  you  see,  the  grass  itself  is  not  without  in- 
struction for  those  who  will  incline  their  ear. 

II.  In  the  second  place,  GOD  is  SEEN  IN  THE 
GROWING  OF  THE  GRASS.  He  is  seen  first  as  a  worker, 
"  He  causeth  the  grass  to  grow."  He  is  seen  secondly 
as  a  caretaker,  "  He  causeth  the  grass  to  grow  for  the 
cattle." 

i.  First,  as  a  worker,  God  is  to  be  seen  in  every 
blade  of  grass,  if  we  have  but  eyes  to  discern  him.  A 
blind  world  this,  which  always  talks  about  "  natural 


IN    THE    HAY-FIELD.  2OI 

laws,"  and  "  the  effects  of  natural  causes,"  but  forgets 
that  laws  cannot  operate  o-  themselves,  and  that  natural 
causes,  so  called,  are  not  causes  at  all  unless  the  First 
Cause  shall  set  them  in  motion.  The  old  Romans  used  to 
say,  God  thundered  ;  God  rained.  We  say  it  thunders  ; 
it  rains.  What  "it"?  All  these  expressions  are  sub- 
terfuges to  escape  from  the  thought  of  God.  We  com- 
monly say,  "  How  wonderful  are  the  works  of  nature!1' 
What  is  "  nature"?  Do  you  know  what  nature  is  ?  I 
remember  a  lecturer  in  the  street,  an  infidel,  speaking 
about  nature,  and  he  was  asked  by  a  Christian  man 
standing  by  whether  he  would  tell  him  what  nature  was. 
He  never  gave  a  reply.  The  production  of  grass  is  not 
the  result  of  natural  law  apart  from  the  actual  work  of 
God  ;  mere  law  would  be  inoperative  unless  the  great 
Master  himself  sent  a  thrill  of  power  through  the  matter 
which  is  regulated  by  the  law — unless,  like  the  steam 
engine,  which  puts  force  into  all  the  spinning-jennies 
and  wheels  of  a  cotton  mill,  God  himself  were  the 
motive  power  to  make  every  wheel  revolve.  I  find  rest 
on  the  grass  as  on  a  royal  couch,  now  that  I  know  that 
my  God  is  there  at  work  for  his  creatures. 

Having  asked  you  to  see  God  as  a  worker,  I  want  you 
to  make  use  of  this — 'therefore  I  bid  you  to  see  God  in 
common  things.  He  makes  the  grass  to  grow — grass  is  a 
common  thing.  You  see  it  everywhere,  yet  God  is  in  it. 
Dissect  it  and  pull  it  to  pieces  ;  the  attributes  of  God 
are  illustrated  in  every  single  flower  of  the  field,  and  in 
every  green  leaf.  In  like  manner  see  God  in  your 
common  matters,  your  daily  afflictions,  your  common 
joys,  your  every-day  mercies.  Do  not  say,  "  I  must 
see  a  miracle  before  I  see  God."  In  truth  everything 
teems  with  marvel.  See  God  in  the  bread  of  your  table 


20*  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

and  the  water  of  your  cup.  It  will  be  the  happiest  way 
of  living  if  you  can  say  in  each  providential  circum- 
stance, "  My  Father  has  done  all  this."  See  God 
also  in  little  things.  The  little  things  of  life  are  the 
greatest  troubles.  A  man  will  hear  that  his  house  is 
burned  down  more  quietly  than  he  will  see  an  ill-cooked 
joint  of  meat  upon  his  table,  when  he  reckoned  upon  its 
being  done  to  a  turn.  It  is  the  little  stone  in  the  shoe 
which  makes  the  pilgrim  limp.  To  see  God  in  little 
things,  to  believe  that  there  is  as  much  the  presence  of 
God  in  a  limb  falling  from  the  elm  as  in  the  avalanche 
which  crushes  a  village  ;  to  believe  that  the  guidance 
of  every  drop  of  spray,  when  the  wave  breaks  on  the 
rock,  is  as  much  under  the  hand  of  God,  as  the  steerage 
of  the  mightiest  planet  in  its  course  ;  to  see  God  in  the 
little  as  well  as  in  the  great — all  this  is  true  wisdom. 

Think,  too,  of  God  working  among  solitary  things; 
for  grass  does  not  merely  grow  where  men  take  care  of 
it,  but  up  there  on  the  side  of  the  lone  Alp,  where  no 
traveller  has  ever  passed.  Where  only  the  eye  of  the 
wild  bird  has  beheld  their  lonely  verdure,  moss  and 
grass  display  their  beauty  ;  for  God's  works  are  fair  to 
other  eyes  than  those  of  mortals.  And  you,  solitary.child 
of  God,  dwelling,  unknown  and  obscure,  in  a  remote 
hamlet  ;  you  are  not  forgotten  by  the  love  of  heaven. 
He  maketh  the  grass  to  grow  all  alone,  and  shall 
he  not  make  you  flourish  despite  your  loneliness  ? 
He  can  bring  forth  your  graces  and  educate  you 
for  the  skies  in  solitude  and  neglect.  The  grass, 
you  know,  is  a  thing  we  tread  upon,  nobody  thinks 
of  its  being  crushed  by  the  foot,  and  yet  God  makes 
it  grow.  Perhaps  you  are  oppressed  and  down- 
trodden, but  let  not  this  depress  your  spirit,  for  God 


IN    THE    HAY-FIELD.  203 

executeth  righteousness  for  all  those  that  are  op- 
pressed ;  he  maketh  the  grass  to  grow,  and  he  can  make 
your  heart  to  flourish  under  all  the  oppressions  and 
afflictions  of  life,  so  tha  you  shall  still  be  happy  and 
holy  though  all  the  world  marches  over  you  ;  still  living 
in  the  immortal  life  which  God  "himself  bestows  upon 
you,  though  hell  itself  set  its  heel  upon  you.  Poor  and 
needy  one,  unknown,  unobserved,  oppressed  and  down- 
trodden, God  makes  the  grass  to  grow,  and  he  will 
take  care  of  you. 

2.  But  I  said  we  should  see  in  the  text  God  also  as 
a  great  caretaker.  "  He  causeth  the  grass  to  grow  for 
the  cattle."  "  Doth  God  take  care  for  oxen  ?  Or  saith 
he  it  altogether  for  our  sakes  ?"  "Thou  shalt  not 
muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn," 
shows  that  God  has  a  care  for  the  beasts  of  the  field  ;  but 
it  shows  much  more  than  that,  namely  that  he  would 
have  those  who  work  for  him  feed  as  they  work.  God 
cares  for  the  beasts,  and  makes  grass  to  grow  for  them. 
Then,  my  soul,  though  sometimes  thou  hast  said  with 
David,  "  So  foolish  was  I,  and  ignorant  :  I  was  as  a 
beast  before  thee, "  yet  God  cares  for  thee.  "  He  giveth 
to  the  beast  his  food,  and  to  the  young  ravens  which 
cry  " — there  you  have  an  instance  of  his  care  for  birds, 
and  here  we  have  his  care  for  beasts  ;  and  though  you, 
my  hearer,  may  seem  to  yourself  to  be  as  black  and 
defiled  as  a  raven,  and  as  far  from  anything  spiritually 
good  as' the  beasts,  yet  take  comfort  from  this  text  ;  he 
gives  grass  to  the  cattle,  and  he  will  give  grace  to  you, 
though  you  think  yourself  to  be  as  a  beast  before  him. 

Observe,  he  cares  for  these  beasts  who  are  helpless 
as  to  caring  for  themselves.  The  cattle  could  not  plant 
the  grass,  nor  cause  it  to  grow.  Though  they  can  do 


204  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

nothing  in  the  matter,  yet  he  does  it  all  for  them  ;  he 
causeth  the  grass  to  grow.  You  who  are  as  helpless  as 
cattle  to  help  yourselves,  who  can  only  stand  and  moan 
out  your  misery,  but  know  not  what  to  do,  God  can 
prevent  you  in  his  loving-kindness,  and  favor  you  in 
his  tenderness.  Let  the  bleatings  of  your  prayer  go  up 
to  heaven,  let  the  meanings  of  your  desires  go  up  to 
him,  and  help  shall  come  to  you  though  you  cannot  help 
yourselves.  Beasts  are  dumb,  speechless  things,  yet  God 
makes  the  grass  grow  for  them.  Will  he  hear  those  that 
cannot  speak,  and  will  he  not  hear  those  who  can  ? 
Since  our  God  views  with  kind  consideration  the  cattle 
in  the  field,  he  will  surely  have  compassion  upon  his 
own  sons  and  daughters  when  they  desire  to  seek 
his  face. 

There  is  this  also  to  be  said,  God  not  only  cares  for 
cattle,  but  the  food  which  he  provides  for  them  is  fit  food 
— he  causeth  grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle,  just  the  sort 
of  food  which  ruminants  require.  Even  thus  the  Lord 
God  provides  fit  sustenance  for  his  people.  Depend 
upon  him  by  faith  and  wait  upon  him  in  prayer,  and 
you  shall  have  food  convenient  for  you.  You  shall  find 
in  God's  mercy  just  that  which  your  nature  demands, 
suitable  supplies  for  peculiar  wants. 

This  "  convenient  "  food  the  Lord  takes  care  to  re- 
serve for  the  cattle,  for  no  one  eats  the  cattle's  food  but 
the  cattle.  There  is  grass  for  them,  and  nobody  else 
cares  for  it,  and  thus  it  is  kept  for  them  ;  even  so  God 
has  a  special  food  for  his  own  people  ;  "  the  secret  of  the 
Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him,  and  he  will  show  them 
his  covenant."  Though  the  grass  be'  free  to  all  who 
choose  to  eat  it,  yet  no  creature  careth  for  it  except  the 
cattle  for  whom  it  is  prepared  ;  and  though  the  grace  of 


IN    THE   HAY-FIELD.  205 

God  be  free  to  all  men,  yet  no  man  careth  for  it  except 
the  elect  of  God,  for  whom  he  prepared  it,  and  whom 
he  prepares  to  receive  it.  There  is  as  much  reserve 
of  the  grass  for  the  cattle  as  if  there  were  walls  around 
it  ;  and  so,  though  the  grace  of  God  be  free,  and  there  be 
no  bound  set  about  it,  yet  it  is  as  much  reserved  as  if  it 
were  restricted. 

God  is  seen  in  the  grass  as  the  worker  and  the  care- 
taker ;  then  let  us  see  his  hand  in  providence  at  all  times. 
Let  us  see  it,  not  only  when  we  have  abundance,  but 
even  when  we  have  scant  supplies  ;  for  the  grass  is  pre- 
paring for  the  cattle  even  in  the  depth  of  winter.  And 
you,  ye  sons  of  sorrow,  in  your  trials  and  troubles,  are 
still  cared  for  by  God  ;  he  will  accomplish  his  own 
divinely  gracious  purposes  in  you  ;  only  be  still  and  see 
the  salvation  of  God.  Every  winter's  night  has  a  direct 
connection  with  the  joyous  days  of  mowing  and  reaping, 
and  each  time  of  grief  is  linked  to  future  joy. 

III.   Our  third   head    is  most    interesting.       GOD'S 

WORKING  IN  THE  GRASS  FOR  THE  CATTLE  GIVES  US  ILLUS- 
TRATIONS CONCERNING  GRACE. 

I  will  soliloquize,  and  say  to  myself  as  I  read  the 
text,  "  He  causeth  the  grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle.  In 
this  I  perceive  a  satisfying  provision  for  that  form  of 
creature.  I  am  also  a  creature,  but  I  am  a  nobler  creat- 
ure than  the  cattle.  I  cannot  imagine  for  a  moment 
that  God  will  provide  all  that  the  cattle  need  and  not 
provide  for  me.  But  naturally  I  feel  uneasy  ;  I  cannot 
find  in  this  world  what  I  want— if  I  were  to  win  all  its 
riches  I  should  still  be  discontented  ;  and  when  I  have  all 
that  heart  could  wish  of  time's  treasures,  yet  still  my 
heart  feels  as  if  it  were  empty.  There  must  be  some- 


206  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

where  or  other  something  that  will  satisfy  me  as  a  man 
with  an  immortal  soul.  God  altogether  satisfies  the  ox  ; 
he  must  therefore  have  something  or  other  that  would 
altogether  satisfy  me  if  I  could  get  it.  There  is  the 
grass,  the  cattle  get  it,  and  when  they  have  eaten  their 
share,  they  lie  down  and  seem  perfectly  contented  ;  now, 
all  I  have  ever  found  on  earth  has  never  satisfied  me  so 
that  I  could  lie  down  and  be  satisfied  ;  there  must,  then, 
be  something  somewhere  that  would  content  me  if  I 
could  get  at  it. "  Is  not  this  good  reasoning?  I  ask 
both  the  Christian  and  the  unbeliever  to  go  with  me 
so  far  ;  but  then  let  us  proceed  another  step  :  The 
cattle  do  get  what  they  want — not  only  is  the  grass  pro- 
vided, but  they  get  it.  Why  should  not  I  obtain  what 
I  want  ?  I  find  my  soul  hungering  and  thirsting  after 
something  more  than  I  can  see  with  my  eyes  or  hear  with 
my  ears  ;  there  must  be  something  to  satisfy  my  soul, 
why  should  I  not  find  it  ?  The  cattle  pasture  upon  that 
which  satisfies  them  ;  why  should  not  I  obtain  satisfac- 
tion too  ?  Then  I  begin  to  pray,  "  O  Lord,  satisfy  my 
mouth  with  good  things,  and  renew  my  youth." 

While  I  am  praying  I  also  meditate  and  think — 
God  has  provided  for  cattle  that  which  is  consonant  to 
their  nature  ;  they  are  nothing  but  flesh,  and  flesh  is 
grass,  there  is  therefore  giass  for  their  flesh.  I  also  am 
flesh,  but  I  am  something  else  beside  ;  I  am  spirit,  and 
to  satisfy  me  I  need  spiritual  meat.  Where  is  it  ? 
When  I  turn  to  God's  word,  I  find  there  that  though 
the  grass  withereth,  the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for 
ever  ;  and  the  word  which  Jesus  speaks  unto  us  is  spirit 
and  life.  "  Oh  !  then,"  I  say,  "  here  is  spiritual  food 
for  my  spiritual  nature,  I  will  rejoice  therein."  O  may 
God  help  me  to  know  what  that  spiritual  meat  is,  and 


IN    THE    HAY-FIELD.  207 

enable  me  to  lay  hold  upon  it,  for  I  perceive  that  though 
God  provides  the  grass  for  the  cattle,  the  cattle  must  eat 
it  themselves.  They  are  not  fed  if  they  refuse  to  eat.  I 
must  imitate  the  cattle,  and  receive  that  which  God  pro- 
vides for  me  ?  What  do  I  find  provided  in  Scripture  ? 
I  am  told  that  the  Lord  Jesus  came  into  this  world  to 
suffer,  and  bleed,  and  die  instead  of  me,  and  that  if  I 
trust  in  him  I  shall  be  saved  ;  and,  being  saved,  the 
thoughts  of  his  love  will  give  solace  and  joy  to  me  and 
be  my  strength.  What  have  I  to  do  but  to  feed  on  these 
truths  ?  I  do  not  find  the  cattle  bringing  any  prepara- 
tion to  the  pasture  except  hunger,  but  they  enter  it  and 
partake  of  their  portion.  Even  so  must  I  by  an  act  of 
faith  live  upon  Jesus.  Lord,  give  me  grace  to  feed  up- 
on Christ  ;  make  me  hungry  and  thirsty  after  him  ;  give 
me  the  faith  by  which  I  may  be  a  receiver  of  him,  that 
so  I  may  be  satisfied  with  favor,  and  full  of  the  good- 
ness of  the  Lord. 

My  text,  though  it  looked  small,  grows  as  we  medi- 
tate upon  it.  I  want  to  introduce  you  to  a  few  more 
illustrations  of  divine  grace.  Preventing  grace  may  here 
be  seen  in  a  symbol.  Grass  grew  before  cattle  were  made. 
We  find  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  that  God  pro- 
vided the  grass  before  he  created  the  cattle.  And  what 
a  mercy  that  covenant  supplies  for  God's  people  were 
prepared  before  they  were  born.  God  had  given  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  Saviour  of  his  chosen  before 
Adam  fell  ;  long  before  sin  came  into  the  world  the 
everlasting  mercy  of  God  foresaw  the  ruin  of  sin,  and 
provided  a  refuge  for  every  elect  soul.  What  a  thought 
it  is  for  me,  that,  before  I  hunger,  God  has  prepared  the 
manna  ;  before  I  thirst,  God  has  caused  the  rock  in  the 
wilderness  to  send  forth  crystal  streams  to  satisfy  the 


208  TALKS  TO   FARMERS. 

thirst  of  my  soul  !  See  what  sovereign  grace  can  do  ! 
Before  the  cattle  come  to  the  pasture  the  grass  has  grown 
for  them,  and  before  I  feel  my  need  of  divine  mercy  that 
mercy  is  provided  for  me.  Then  I  perceive  an  illustration 
of  free  grace,  for  when  the  ox  comes  into  the  field  he  brings  no 
money  with  him.  So  I,  a  poor  needy  sinner,  having 
nothing,  come  and  receive  Christ  without  money  and 
without  price.  The  Lord  maketh  the  grass  to  grow  for 
the  cattle,  and  so  doth  he  provide  grace  for  my  needy 
soul,  though  I  have  now  no  money,  no  virtue,  no  ex- 
cellence of  my  own. 

And  why  is  it,  my  friends,  why  is  it  that  God  gives 
the  cattle  the  grass  ?  The  reason  is,  because  they  belong 
to  him.  Here  is  a  text  to  prove  it.  "  The  silver  and  the 
gold  are  mine,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills." 
God  provides  grass  for  his  own  cattle,  and  grace  is  pro- 
vided for  God's  people.  Of  every  herd  of  cattle  in  the 
world,  God  could  say,  "  They  are  mine."  Long  before 
the  grazier  puts  his  brand  on  the  bullock  God  has  set  his 
creating  mark  upon  it  ;  so,  before  the  stamp  of  Adam's 
fall  was  set  upon  our  brow,  the  stamp  of  electing  love 
was  set  there  :  "  In  thy  book  all  my  members  were  writ- 
ten, which  in  continuance  were  fashioned,  when  as  yet 
there  was  none  of  them." 

God  also  feeds  cattle  because  he  has  entered  into  a 
covenant  with  them  to  do  so.  "  What  !  a  covenant  with 
the  cattle  !"  says  somebody.  Ay  !  truly  so,  for  when 
God  spake  to  his  servant  Noah,  in  that  day  when  all  the 
cattle  came  out  of  the  ark,  we  find  him  saying,  "  I  es- 
tablish my  covenant  with  you,  and  with  your  seed  after 
you  ;  and  with  every  living  creature  that  is  with  you, 
of  the  fowl,  of  the  cattle,  and  of  every  beast  of  the  earth 
with  you."  Thus  a  covenant  was  made  with  the  cattle, 


IN    THE    HAY-FIELD.  209 

and  that  covenant  was  that  seed-time  and  harvest  should 
not  fail  ;  therefore  the  earth  brings  forth  for  them,  and 
for  them  the  Lord  causeth  the  grass  to  grow.  Does 
Jehovah  keep  his  covenant  with  cattle,  and  will  he  not 
keep  his  covenant  with  his  own  beloved  ?  Ah  !  it  is 
because  his  chosen  people  are  his  covenanted  ones  in  the 
person  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  he  provides  for  them 
all  things  that  they  shall  need  in  time  and  in  eternity, 
and  satisfies  them  out  of  the  fulness  of  his  everlast- 
ing love. 

Once,  again,  God  feeds  the  cattle,  and  then  the  cattle 
praise  him.  We  find  David  saying,  in  the  hundred  and 

forty-eighth  Psalm,  "  Praise  the  Lord ye  beasts 

and  all  cattle."  The  Lord  feeds  his  people  to  the 
end  that  their  glory  may  sing  praise  unto  him  and  not 
be  silent.  While  other  creatures  give  glory  to  God,  let 
the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  especially  say  so,  whom  he 
has  redeemed  out  of  the  hand  of  the  enemy. 

Nor  even  yet  is  our  text  exhausted.  Turning  one 
moment  from  the  cattle,  I  want  you  to  notice  the  grass. 
It  is  said  of  the  grass,  "  He  causeth  the  grass  to  grow  ": 
here  is  a  doctrinal  lesson,  for  if  grass  does  not  grow 
without  God's  causing  it  to  grow,  how  could  grace  arise 
in  the  human  heart  apart  from  divine  operations  ? 
Surely  grace  is  a  much  more  wonderful  product  of  divine 
wisdom  than  the  grass  can  be  !  And  if  grass  does  not 
grow  without  a  divine  cause,  depend  upon  it  grace  does 
not  dwell  in  us  without  a  divine  implantation.  If  I  have 
so  much  as  one  blade  of  grace  growing  within  me,  I 
must  trace  it  all  to  God's  divine  will,  and  render  to  him 
all  the  glory. 

Again,  if  God  thinks  it  worth  his  while  tor  make 
grass,  and  take  care  of  it,  much  more  will  he  think  it  to 


210  TALKS   tO   FARMERS. 

his  honor  to  cause  his  grace  to  grow  in  our  hearts.  If 
the  great  invisible  Spirit,  whose  thoughts  are  high  and 
lofty,  condescends  to  look  after  that  humble  thing 
which  grows  by  the  hedge,  surely  he  will  condescend  to 
watch  over  his  own  nature,  which  he  calls  "  the  incor- 
ruptible seed,  which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever  !" 
Mungo  Park,  in  the  deserts  of  Africa,  was  much  com- 
forted when  he  took  up  a  little  piece  of  moss,  and  saw 
the  wisdom  and  power  of  God  in  that  lonely  piece  of 
verdant  loveliness.  So,  when  you  see  the  fields  ripe 
and  ready  for  the  mower,  your  hearts  should  leap  for 
joy  to  see  how  God  has  produced  the  grass,  caring  for 
it  all  through  the  rigorous  cold  of  winter,  and  the  chill 
months  of  spring,  until  at  last  he  sent  the  genial  rain 
and  sunshine,  and  brought  the  fields  to  their  best  con- 
dition. And  so,  my  soul,  though  thou  mayest  endure 
many  a  frost  of  sorrow  and  a  long  winter  of  trial,  yet 
the  Lord  will  cause  thee  to  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  ;  to 
whom  be  glory  for  ever.  Amen. 


THE  JOY  OF  HARVEST. 

"  They  joy  before  thee  according  to  the  joy  in  harvest." — ISAIAH  9  :  3. 

THE  other  day  I  kept  the  feast  with  a  company  who 
shouted  "  Harvest  Home."  I  was  glad  to  see  the  rich 
and  poor  rejoicing  together  ;  and  when  the  cheerful 
meal  was  ended,  I  was  glad  to  turn  one  of  the  tables 
into  a  pulpit,  and  in  the  large  barn  to  preach  the  gospel 
of  the  ever-blessed  God  to  an  earnest  audience.  My 
heart  was  merry  in  harmony  with  the  occasion,  and  I 
shall  now  keep  in  the  same  key,  and  talk  to  you  a  little 
upon  the  joy  of  harvest.  Londoners  forget  that  it  is 
harvest  time  ;  living  in  this  great  desert  of  dingy  bricks 
we  hardly  know  what  a  wheat-ear  is  like,  except  as  we 
see  it  dry  and  white  in  the  window  of  a  corn  dealer's 
shop  ;  yet  let  us  all  remember  that  there  is  such  a  season 
as  harvest,  when  by  God's  goodness  the  fruits  of  the 
earth  are  gathered  in. 

WHAT  is  THE  JOY  OF  HARVEST  which  is  here  taken  as 
the  simile  of  the  joy  of  the  saints  before  God  ?  I  am 
afraid  that  to  the  mere  selfish  order  of  spirits  the  joy  of 
harvest  is  simply  that  of  personal  gratification  at  the  in- 
crease of  wealth.  Sometimes  the  farmer  only  rejoices 
because  he  sees  the  reward  of  his  toils,  and  is  so  much  the 
richer  man.  I  hope  that  with  many  there  mingles  the 
second  cause  of  joy  ;  namely,  gratitude  to  God  that  an 
abundant  harvest  will  give  bread  to  the  poor,  and  remove 


212  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

complaining  from  our  streets.  There  is  a  lawful  joy  in 
harvest,  no  doubt,  to  the  man  who  is  enriched  by  it  ; 
for  any  man  who  works  hard  has  a  right  to  rejoice 
when. at  last  he  gains  his  desire.  It  would  be  well  if 
men  would  always  recollect  that  their  last  and  greatest 
harvest  will  be  to  them  according  to  their  labor.  He  that 
soweth  to  the  flesh  will  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption,  and 
only  the  man  that  soweth  to  the  spirit  will  of  the  spirit 
reap  life  everlasting.  Many  a  young  man  commences 
life  by  sowing  what  he  calls  his  wild  oats,  which  he  had 
better  never  have  sown,  for  they  will  bring  him  a 
terrible  harvest.  He  expects  that  from  these  wild 
oats  he  will  gather  a  harvest  of  true  pleasure,  but  it 
cannot  be  ;  the  truest  pleasures  of  life  spring  from  the 
good  seed  of  righteousness,  and  not  from  the  hemlock 
of  sin.  As  a  man  who  sows  thistles  in  his  furrows  must 
not  expect  to  reap  the  golden  wheatsheaf,  so  he  who 
follows  the  ways  of  vice  must  not  expect  happiness. 
On  the  contrary,  if  he  sows  the  wind  he  will  reap  the 
whirlwind.  When  a  sinner  feels  the  pangs  of  conscience 
he  may  well  say,  "  This  is  what  I  sowed."  When  he 
shall  at  last  receive  the  punishment  of  his  evil  deeds  he 
will  blame  no  one  but  himself  ;  he  sowed  tares  and  he 
must  reap  tares.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Christian  man, 
though  his  salvation  is  not  of  works,  but  of  grace,  will 
have  a  gracious  reward  given  to  him  by  his  Master.  Sow- 
ing in  tears,  he  shall  reap  in  joy.  Putting  out  his 
talents  to  interest,  he  shall  enter  into  his  Master's  joy, 
and  hear  him  say,  '  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant."  The  joy  of  harvest  in  part  consists  of  the  re- 
ward of  labor  ;  may  such  be  our  joy  in  serving  the  Lord. 
The  joy  of  harvest  has  another  element  in  it,  namely, 
that  of  gratitude  to  God  for  favors  bestowed.  We  are  singu- 


THE    JOY    OF   HARVEST.  213 

larly  dependent  on  God  ;  far  more  so  than  most  of  us 
imagine.  When  the  children  of  Israel  were  in  the  wilder- 
ness they  went  forth  every  morning  and  gathered  the 
manna.  Our  manna  does  not  come  to  us  every  morn- 
ing, but  it  comes  once  a  year.  It  is  as  much  a  heavenly 
supply  as  if  it  lay  like  a  hoar-frost  round  about  the 
camp.  If  we  went  out  into  the  field  and  gathered  food 
which  dropped  from  the  clouds  we  should  think  it  a 
great  miracle  ;  and  is  it  not  as  great  a  marvel  that  our 
bread  should  come  up  from  the  earth  as  that  it  should 
come  down  from  the  sky  ?  The  same  God  who  bade 
the  heavens  drop  with  angels'  food  bids  the  dull  earth 
in  its  due  season  yield  corn  for  mankind.  Therefore 
whenever  we  find  that  harvest  comes,  let  us  be  grateful 
to  God,  and  let  us  not  suffer  the  season  to  pass  over 
without  psalms  of  thanksgiving.  I  believe  I  shall  be 
correct  if  I  say  that  there  is  never  in  the  world,  as  a 
rule,  more  than  sixteen  months'  supply  of  food  ;  that 
is  to  say,  when  the  harvest  is  gathered  in,  there  may  be 
sixteen  months'  supply  ;  but  at  the  time  of  harvest 
there  is  not  usually  enough  wheat  in  the  whole  world  to 
last  the  population  more  than  four  or  five  months  ;  so 
that  if  the  harvest  did  not  come  we  should  be  on  the 
verge  of  famine.  We  live  still  from  hand  to  mouth. 
Let  us  pause  and  bless  God,  and  let  the  joy  of  harvest 
be  the  joy  of  gratitude. 

To  the  Christian  it  should  be  great  joy,  by  means 
of  the  harvest,  to  receive  an  assurance  of  God 's  faithfulness. 
The  Lord  has  promised  that  seed-time  and  harvest, 
summer  and  winter,  shall  never  cease  ;  and  when  you 
see  the  loaded  wain  carrying  in  the  crop  you  may  say  to 
yourself,  "  God  is  true  to  his  promise.  Despite  the 
dreary  winter  and  the  damp  spring,  autumn  has  come 


214  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

with  its  golden  grain."  Depend  upon  it,  that  as  the 
Lord  keeps  this  promise  he  will  keep  all  the  rest.  All 
his  promises  are  yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  if  he 
keeps  his  covenant  to  the  earth,  much  more  will  he  keep 
his  covenant  with  his  own  people,  whom  he  hath  loved 
with  an  everlasting  love.  Go,  Christian,  to  the  mercy- 
seat  with  the  promise  on  your  lip  and  plead  it.  Be  as- 
sured it  is  not  a  dead  letter.  Let  not  unbelief  cause  you 
to  stammer  when  you  mention  the  promise  before  the 
throne,  but  say  it  boldly — "  Fulfil  this  word  unto  thy 
servant  on  which  thou  hast  caused  me  to  hope." 
Shame  upon  us  that  we  so  little  believe  our  God.  The 
world  is  full  of  proofs  of  his  goodness.  Every  rising 
sun,  every  falling  shower,  every  revolving  season  certifies 
his  faithfulness.  Wherefore  do  we  doubt  him  ?  If  we 
never  doubt  him  till  we  have  cause  for  it  we  shall  never 
know  distrust  again.  Encouraged  by  the  return  of 
harvest,  let  us  resolve  in  the  strength  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
that  we  will  not  waver,  but  will  believe  in  the  divine 
word  and  rejoice  in  it. 

Once  more.  To  the  Christian,  in  the  joy  of 
harvest  there  will  always  be  the  joy  of  expectation.  As 
there  is  a  harvest  to  the  husbandman  for  which  he 
waiteth  patiently,  so  there  is  a  harvest  for  all  faithful 
waiters  who  are  looking  for  the  coming  and  the  appear- 
ing of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  The  mature 
Christian,  like  the  ripe  ear  of  corn,  hangs  down  his 
head  with  holy  humility.  When  he  was  but  green  in 
the  things  of  God  he  stood  erect  and  was  somewhat 
boastful,  but  now  that  he  has  become  full  of  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Lord  he  is  humbled  thereby,  and  bows  him- 
self down  ;  he  is  waiting  for  the  sickle,  and  he  dreads  it 
not,  for  no  common  reaper  shall  come  to  gather  Christ's 


THE    JOY    OF    HARVEST.  215 

people — he  himself  shall  reap  the  harvest  of  the  world. 
The  Lord  leaves  the  destroying  angel  to  reap  the  vin- 
tage and  to  cast  it  into  the  wine-vat  to  be  trodden  with 
vengeance  ;  but  as  for  the  grain  which  he  himself  has 
sown,  he  will  gather  it  himself  with  his  own  golden  sickle. 
We  are  looking  for  this.  We  are  growing  among  the 
tares,  and  sometimes  we  are  half  afraid  lest  the  tares 
should  be  stronger  than  ourselves  and  choke  the  wheat ; 
but  we  shall  be  separated  by-and-by,  and  when  the  corn 
is  well  winnowed  and  stored  in  the  garner,  we  shall  be 
there.  It  is  this  expectation  which  even  now  makes  our 
hearts  throb  with  joy.  We  have  gone  to  the  grave  with 
precious  sheaves  that  belonged  to  our  Master,  and  when 
we  were  there  we  thought  we  could  almost  say,  "  Lord, 
if  they  sleep  they  shall  do  well.  Let  us  die  with  them." 
Our  joy  of  harvest  is  the  hope  of  being  at  rest  with  all 
the  saints,  and  for  ever  with  the  Lord.  A  view  of  these 
shadowy  harvests  upon  earth  should  make  us  exceeding- 
ly glad,  because  they  are  the  image  and  foreshadowing 
of  the  eternal  harvest  above. 

So  much  about  the  joy  of  harvest  ;  but  I  hasten 
onward.  WHAT  JOYS  ARE  THOSE  WHICH  TO  THE  BELIEVER 
ARE  AS  THE  JOY  OF  HARVEST  ?  It  is  a  common  notion 
that  Christians  are  an  unhappy  people.  It  is  true  that 
we  are  tried,  but  it  is  false  that  we  are  miserable.  With 
all  their  trials,  believers  have  such  a  compensation  in  the 
love  of  Christ  that  they  are  still  a  blessed  generation, 
and  it  may  be  said  of  them,  "  Happy  art  thou,  O 
Israel. ' ' 

One  of  the  first  seasons  in  which  we  knew  a  joy 
equal  to  the  joy  of  harvest — a  season  which  has  con- 
tinued with  us  ever  since  it  commenced — was  when  we 


2l6  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

found  the  Saviour,  and  so  obtained  salvation.  You  recol- 
lect for  yourselves,  brethren  and  sisters,  the  time  of  the 
ploughing  of  your  souls.  My  heart  was  fallow,  and 
covered  with  weeds  ;  but  on  a  certain  day  the  great 
Husbandman  came  and  began  to  plough  my  soul.  Ten 
black  horses  were  his  team,  and  it  was  a  sharp  plough- 
share that  he  used,  and  the  ploughers  made  deep 
furrows.  The  ten  commandments  were  those  black 
horses,  and  the  justice  of  God,  like  a  ploughshare,  tore 
my  spirit.  I  was  condemned,  undone,  destroyed,  lost, 
helpless,  hopeless — I  thought  hell  was  before  me.  Then 
there  came  a  cross  ploughing,  for  when  I  went  to  hear 
the  gospel  it  did  not  comfort  me  ;  it  made  me  wish  I  had 
a  part  in  it,  but  I  feared  that  such  a  boon  was  out  of  the 
question.  The  choicest  promises  of  God  frowned  at 
me,  and  his  threatenings  thundered  at  me.  I  prayed, 
but  found  no  answer  of  peace.  It  was  long  with  me 
thus.  After  the  ploughing  came  the  sowing.  God  who 
ploughed  the  heart  made  it  conscious  that  it  needed  the 
gospel,  and  the  gospel  seed  was  joyfully  received.  Do 
you  recollect  that  auspicious  day  when  at  last  you  began 
to  have  some  little  hope  ?  It  was  very  little — like  a 
green  blade  that  peeps  up  from  the  soil  ;  you  scarce 
knew  whether  it  was  grass  or  corn,  whether  it  was  pre- 
sumption or  true  faith.  It  was  a  little  hope,  but  it 
grew  very  pleasantly.  Alas,  a  frost  of  doubt  came  ; 
snow  of  fear  fell  ;  cold  winds  of  despondency  blew  on 
you,  and  you  said,  "There  can  be  no  hope  forme." 
But  what  a  glorious  day  was  that  when  at  last  the  wheat 
which  God  had  sown  ripened,  and  you  could  say, 
"  I  have  looked  unto  him  and  have  been  lightened  ;  I 
have  laid  my  sins  on  Jesus,  where  God  laid  them  of  old, 
and  they  are  taken  away,  and  I  am  saved."  I  remember 


THE    JOY    OF    HARVEST.  21 7 

well  that  day,  and  so  no  doubt  do  many  of  you.  O 
sirs  !  no  husbandman  ever  shouted  for  joy  as  our  heart 
shouted  when  a  precious  Christ  was  ours,  and  we  could 
grasp  him  with  full  assurance  of  salvation  in  him. 
Many  days  have  passed  since  then,  but  the  joy  of  it  is 
still  fresh  with  us.  And,  blessed  be  God,  it  is  not  the 
joy  of  the  first  day  only  that  we  look  back  upon  ;  it  is 
the  joy  of  every  day  since  then,  more  or  less  ;  for  our 
joy  no  man  taketh  from  us  ;  still  we  are  walking  in 
Christ,  even  as  we  received  him.  Even  now  all  our  hope 
on  him  is  stayed,  all  our  help  from  him  we  bring  ;  and 
our  joy  and  peace  continue  with  us  because  they  are 
based  upon  an  immovable  foundation.  We  rejoice  in  the 
Lord,  yea,  and  we  will  rejoice. 

The  joy  of  harvest  generally  shows  itself  by  the 
farmer  giving  a  feast  to  his  friends  and  neighbors  ; 
and,  usually,  those  who  find  Christ  express  their  joy  by 
telling  their  friends  and  their  neighbors  how  great 
things  the  Lord  hath  done  for  them.  The  grace  of  God 
is  communicative.  A  man  cannot  be  saved,  and  always 
hold  his  tongue  about  it  ;  as  well  look  for  dumb  choirs 
in  heaven  as  for  a  silent  church  on  earth.  If  a  man  has 
been  thirsty,  and  has  come  to  the  living  stream,  his 
first  impulse  will  be  to  cry,  "  Ho  !  every  one  that 
thirsteth  !"  Do  you  feel  the  joy  of  harvest,  the  joy 
that  makes  you  wish  that  others  should  share  with 
you  ?  If  so,  do  not  repress  the  impulse  to  proclaim  your 
happiness.  Speak  of  Christ  to  brothers  and  sisters,  to 
friends  and  kinsfolk  ;  and,  if  the  language  be  stam- 
mering, the  message  in  itself  is  so  important  that  the 
words  in  which  you  couch  it  will  be  a  secondary  con- 
sideration. Tell  it,  tell  it  out  far  and  wide — that  there 
is  a  Saviour,  that  you  have  found  him,  and  that  his 


2l8  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

blood  can  wash  away  transgression.  Tell  it  every  where  ; 
and  so  the  joy  of  harvest  shall  spread  o'er  land  and  sea, 
and  God  shall  be  glorified. 

We  have  another  joy  which  is  like  the  joy  of  har- 
vest. We  frequently  have  it,  too.  It  is  the  joy  of 
answered  prayer.  I  hope  you  know  what  it  is  to  pray  in 
faith.  Some  prayer  is  not  worth  the  words  used  in  pre- 
senting it,  because  there  is  no  faith  mixed  with  it. 
"  With  all  thy  sacrifices  thou  shalt  offer  salt,"  and  the 
salt  of  faith  is  needful  if  we  would  have  our  sacrifices 
accepted.  Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  mercy-seat 
know  that  prayer  is  a  reality,  and  that  the  doctrine  of 
divine  answers  to  prayer  is  no  fiction.  Sometimes  God 
will  delay  to  answer  for  wise  reasons  ;  then  his  children 
must  cry,  and  cry,  and  cry  again.  They  are  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  husbandman  who  must  wait  for  the  pre- 
cious fruits  of  the  earth  ;  and  when  at  last  the  answer  to 
prayer  comes,  they  are  then  in  the  husbandman's  posi- 
tion when  he  receives  the  harvest.  Remember  Hannah's 
wail  and  Hannah's  word.  In  the  bitterness  of  her  soul 
she  cried  to  God,  and  when  her  child  was  given  to  her 
she  called  it  "  Samuel,"  meaning,  "  Asked  of  God  ;" 
for,  said  she,  "  For  this  child  I  prayed."  He  was  a 
dear  child  to  her,  because  he  was  a  child  of  prayer. 
Any  mercy  that  comes  to  you  in  answer  to  prayer  will 
be  your  Samuel  mercy,  your  darling  mercy.  You  will 
say  of  it,  "  For  this  mercy  I  prayed,"  and  it  will  bring 
the  joy  of  harvest  to  your  spirit.  If  the  Lord  desires  to 
surprise  his  children  he  has  only  to  answer  their  pray- 
ers ;  for  the  most  of  them  would  be  astonished  if  an 
answer  came  to  their  petitions.  I  know  how  they  speak 
about  answers  to  prayer.  They  say,  "  How  remark- 
able !  How  wonderful  !"  as  if  it  were  anything  re- 


THE    JOY    OF    HARVEST.  Zip 

markable  that  God  should  be  true,  and  that  the  Most 
High  should  keep  his  promise.  Oh  for  more  faith  to 
rest  upon  his  word  !  and  we  should  have  more  of  these 
harvest  joys. 

We  have  another  joy  of  harvest  in  ourselves  when 
we  conquer  a  temptation.  We  know  what  it  is  to  get  under 
a  cloud  sometimes  ;  sin  within  us  rises  with  a  darken- 
ing force,  or  an  external  adversity  beclouds  us,  and 
we  miss  the  plain  path  we  were  accustomed  to  walk  in. 
A  child  of  God  at  such  times  will  cry  mightily  for  help  ; 
for  he  is  fearful  of  himself  and  fearful  of  his  surround- 
ings. Some  of  God's  people  have  been  by  the  week  and 
month  together  exposed  to  the  double  temptation,  from 
without  and  from  within,  and  have  cried  to  God  in 
bitter  anguish.  It  has  been  a  very  hard  struggle  ;  the 
sinful  action  has  been  painted  in  very  fascinating  colors, 
and  the  siren  voice  of  temptation  has  almost  enchanted 
them.  But  when  at  last  they  have  got  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  without  having  slipped 
with  their  feet  ;  when,  after  all,  they  have  not  been  de- 
stroyed by  Apollyon,  but  have  come  forth  again  into 
the  daylight,  they  feel  a  joy  unspeakable,  compared 
with  which  the  joy  of  harvest  is  mere  childish  merri- 
ment. Those  know  deep  joy  who  have  felt  bitter 
borrow.  As  the  man  feels  that  he  is  the  stronger  for  the 
conflict,  as  he  feels  that  he  has  gathered  experience  and 
stronger  faith  from  having  passed  through  the  trial,  he 
lifts  up  his  heart,  and  rejoices,  not  in  himself,  but  be- 
fore his  God,  with  the  joy  of  harvest.  Brethren  beloved, 
you  know  what  that  means. 

Again,  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  joy  of  harvest 
when  we  have  been  rendered  useful.  The  master  passion  of 
every  Christian  is  to  be  useful.  There  should  be  a 


220  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

burning  zeal  within  us  for  the  glory  of  God.  When  the 
man  who  desires  to  be  useful  has  laid  his  plans  and  set 
about  his  work,  he  begins  to  look  out  for  the  results  ; 
but  perhaps  it  will  be  weeks,  or  years,  before  results 
will  come.  The  worker  is  not  to  be  blamed  that  there 
are  no  fruits  as  yet,  but  he  is  to  be  blamed  if  he  is  con- 
tent to  be  without  fruits.  A  preacher  may  preach  with- 
out conversions,  and  who  shall  blame  him  ?  but  if  he  be 
happy,  who  shall  excuse  him  ?  It  is  ours  to  break  our 
own  hearts  if  we  cannot  by  God's  grace  break  other 
men's  hearts  ,  if  others  will  not  weep  for  their  sins  it 
should  be  our  constant  habit  to  weep  for  them.  When 
the  heart  becomes  earnest,  warm,  zealous,  God  usually 
gives  a  measure  of  success,  some  fiftyfold,  some  a  hun- 
dredfold. When  the  success  comes  it  is  the  joy  of 
harvest  indeed.  I  cannot  help  being  egotistical  enough 
to  mention  the  joy  I  felt  when  first  I  heard  that  a  soul 
had  found  peace  through  my  youthful  ministry.  I  had 
been  preaching  in  a  village  some  few  Sabbaths  with  an 
increasing  congregation,  but  I  had  not  heard  of  a  con- 
version, and  I  thought,  "  Perhaps  I  am  not  called  of 
God.  He  does  not  mean  me  to  preach,  for  if  he  did  he 
would  give  me  spiritual  children."  One  Sabbath  my 
good  deacon  said,  "  Don't  be  discouraged.  A  poor 
woman  was  savingly  impressed  last  Sabbath."  How 
long  do  you  suppose  it  was  before  I  saw  that  woman  ? 
It  was  just  as  long  as  it  took  me  to  reach  her  cottage. 
I  was  eager  to  hear  from  her  own  lips  whether  it  was  a 
work  of  God's  grace  or  not.  I  always  looked  upon  her 
with  interest,  though  only  a  poor  laborer's  wife,  till  she 
was  taken  away  to  heaven,  after  having  lived  a  holy 
life.  Many  since  then  have  I  rejoiced  over  in  the  Lord, 
but  that  first  seal  to  my  ministry  was  peculiarly  dear  to 


THE    JOY    OF    HARVEST.  221 

me.  It  gave  me  a  sip  of  the  joy  of  harvest.  If  some- 
body had  left  me  a  fortune  it  would  not  have  caused  me 
one-hundredth  part  of  the  delight  I  had  in  discovering 
that  a  soul  had  been  led  to  the  Saviour.  I  am  sure 
Christian  people  who  have  not  this  joy  have  missed  one 
of  the  choicest  delights  that  a  believer  can  know  this 
side  heaven.  In  fact,  when  I  see  souls  saved,  I  do 
not  envy  Gabriel  his  throne  nor  the  angels  their  harps. 
It  shall  be  our  heaven  to  be  out  of  heaven  for  a  season  if 
we  can  but  bring  others  to  know  the  Saviour  and  so  add 
fresh  jewels  to  the  Redeemer's  crown. 

I  will  mention  another  delight  which  is  as  the  joy 
of  harvest,  and  that  is  fellowship  with  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  This  is  not  so  much  a  matter  for  speech  as  for 
experience  and  delight.  If  we  try  to  speak  of  what 
communion  with  Christ  is,  we  fail.  Solomon,  the  wis- 
est of  men,  when  inspired  to  write  of  the  fellowship  of 
the  church  with  her  Lord,  was  compelled  to  write  in 
allegories  and  emblems,  and  though  to  the  spiritual 
mind  the  Book  of  Canticles  is  always  delightful,  yet  to 
the  carnal  mind  it  seems  a  mere  love  song.  The  natu- 
ral man  discerneth  not  the  things  that  be  of  God,  for 
they  are  spiritual,  and  can  only  be  spiritually  discerned. 
But,  oh,  the  bliss  of  knowing  that  Christ  is  yours,  and 
of  entering  into  nearness  of  communion  with  him.  To 
thrust  your  hand  into  his  side,  and  your  finger  into  the 
print  of  the  nails  ;  these  be  not  everyday  joys  ;  but 
when  such  near  and  dear  communings  come  to  us  on 
our  highdays  and  holydays,  they  make  our  souls  like 
the  chariots  of  Ammi-nadib,  or,  if  you  will,  they  cause 
us  to  tread  the  world  beneath  our  feet  and  all  that  earth 
calls  good  or  great.  Our  condition  matters  nothing  to 
us  if  Christ  be  with  us — he  is  our  God,  our  comfort, 


222  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

and  our  all,  and  we  rejoice  before  him  as  with  the  joy 
of  harvest. 

I  have  no  time  to  enlarge  further  ;  for  I  want  to 
close  with  one  other  practical  word.  Many  of  us  are 
anxiously  desiring  a  harvest  which  would  bring  to  us  an 
intense  delight.  Of  late,  divers  persons  have  communi- 
cated to  me  in  many  ways  the  strong  emotion  they  feel 
of  pity  for  the  souls  of  men.  Others  of  us  have  felt  a 
mysterious  impulse  to  pray  more  than  we  did,  and  to  be 
more  anxious  than  ever  we  were  that  Christ  would  save 
poor  perishing  sinners.  We  shall  not  be  satisfied  until 
there  is  a  thorough  awakening  in  this  land.  We  did 
not  raise  the  feeling  in  our  own  minds,  and  we  do  not 
desire  to  repress  it.  We  do  not  believe  it  can  be  re- 
pressed ;  but  others  will  feel  the  same  heavenly  affec- 
tion, and  will  sigh  and  cry  to  God  day  and  night  until 
the  blessing  comes.  This  is  the  sowing,  this  is  the 
ploughing,  this  is  the  harrowing — may  it  go  on  to  har- 
vesting. I  long  to  hear  my  brethren  and  sisters  uni- 
versally saying,  "  We  are  full  of  anguish,  we  are  in 
agony  till  souls  be  saved."  The  cry  of  Rachel,  "  Give 
me  children,  or  I  die,"  is  the  cry  of  your  minister  this 
day,  and  the  longing  of  thousands  more  besides.  As 
that  desire  grows  in  intensity  a  revival  is  approaching. 
We  must  have  spiritual  children  born  to  Christ,  or  our 
hearts  will  break  for  the  longing  that  we  have  for  their 
salvation.  Oh  for  more  of  these  longings,  yearnings, 
cravings,  travailings  !  If  we  plead  till  the  harvest  of 
revival  comes  we  shall  partake  in  the  joy  of  it. 

Who  will  have  the  most  joy  ?  Those  who  have  been 
the  most  concerned  about  it.  You  who  do  not  pray  in 
private,  nor  come  out  to  prayer-meetings,  will  not 


THE   JOY   OF   HARVEST.  223 

have  the  joy  when  the  blessing  comes,  and  the  church  is 
increased.  You  had  no  share  in  the  sowing,  therefore 
you  will  have  little  share  in  the  reaping.  You  who 
never  speak  to  others  about  their  souls,  who  take  no 
share  in  Sunday-school  or  mission  work,  but  simply  eat 
the  fat  and  drink  the  sweet — you  shall  have  none  of  the 
joy  of  harvest,  for  you  do  not  put  your  hands  to  the 
work  of  the  Lord.  And  who  would  wish  that  idlers 
should  be  happy  ?  Rather  in  our  zeal  and  jealousy  we 
feel  inclined  to  say,  "  Curse  ye  Meroz,  curse  ye  bitterly 
the  inhabitants  thereof  ;  because  they  came  not  up  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against 
the  mighty."  If  you  come  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  by 
his  own  divine  Spirit,  you  shall  share  the  joy  of  harvest. 
Perhaps  none  will  have  more  of  that  joy  than  those  who 
shall  have  the  privilege  of  seeing  their  own  dear  ones 
brought  to  God.  Some  of  you  have  children  who  are  a 
trial  to  you  whenever  you  think  of  them  ;  let  them  be 
such  a  trial  to  you  that  they  drive  you  to  incessant 
prayer  for  them,  and,  if  the  blessing  comes,  why  should 
it  not  drop  on  them  ?  If  a  revival  comes,  why  should 
not  your  daughter  yet  be  converted,  and  that  wild  boy 
of  yours  be  brought  in,  or  even  your  gray-headed 
father,  who  has  been  sceptical  and  unbelieving — why 
should  not  the  grace  of  God  come  to  him  ?  And,  oh, 
what  a  joy  of  harvest  you  will  have  then  ?  What  bliss 
will  thrill  through  your  spirit  when  you  see  those  who 
are  united  to  you  in  ties  of  blood  united  to  Christ  your 
Lord  !  Pray  much  for  them  with  earnest  faith,  and  you 
shall  yet  have  the  joy  of  harvest  in  your  own  house,  a 
shout  of  harvest  home  in  your  own  family. 

Possibly,  my  hearer,  you  have  not  much  to  do  with 
such  joy,  for  you  are  yourself  unsaved.      Yet  it  is  a 


224  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

grand  thing  for  an  unconverted  person  to  be  under  a 
ministry  that  God  blesses,  and  with  a  people  that  pray 
for  conversions.  It  is  a  happy  thing  for  you,  young  man, 
to  have  a  Christian  mother.  It  is  a  great  boon  for  you, 
O  unconverted  woman,  that  you  have  a  godly  sister. 
These  make  us  hopeful  for  you.  While  your  relations 
are  prayerful,  we  are  hopeful  for  you.  May  the  Lord 
Jesus  be  yours  yet.  But,  oh  !  if  you  remain  un- 
believing, however  rich  a  blessing  comes  to  others,  it 
will  leave  you  none  the  better  for  it.  "If  ye  be  willing 
and  obedient,  ye  shall  eat  the  good  of  the  land  ;"  but 
there  are  some  who  may  cry  in  piteous  accents,  "  The 
harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  we  are  not 
saved."  It  has  been  remarked  that  those  who  pass 
through  a  season  of  revival  and  remain  unconverted  are 
more  hardened  and  unimpressed  than  before.  I  believe 
it  to  be  so,  and  I  therefore  pray  the  divine  Spirit  to  come 
with  such  energy  that  none  of  you  may  escape  his 
power.  May  you  be  led  to  pray, 

"  Pass  me  not,  O  mighty  Spirit  I 

Thou  canst  make  the  blind  to  see  ; 
Witnesser  of  Jesus'  merit, 
Speak  the  word  of  power  to  me, 

Even  me. 

"  Have  I  long  in  sin  been  sleeping, 

Long  been  slighting,  grieving  thee  ? 
Has  the  world  my  heart  been  keeping  ? 
Oh  forgive  and  rescue  me, 

Even  me." 

Oh  for  earnest,  importunate  prayer  from  all  believers 
throughout  the  world  !  If  our  churches  could  be  stirred 
up  to  incessant,  vehement  crying  to  God,  so  as  to  give 
him  no  rest  till  he  make  Zion  a  praise  in  the  earth,  we 
might  expect  to  see  God's  kingdom  come  and  the  power 


THE    JOY    OF    HARVEST.  22$ 

of  Satan  fall.  As  many  of  you  as  love  Christ,  I  charge 
you  by  his  dear  name  to  be  much  in  prayer  ;  as  many 
of  you  as  love  the  Church  of  God,  and  desire  her  pros- 
perity, I  beseech  you  keep  not  back  in  this  time  of  sup- 
plication. The  Lord  grant  that  you  may  be  led  to 
plead  till  the  harvest  joy  is  granted.  Do  you  remember 
one  Sabbath  my  saying,  "  The  Lord  deal  so  with  you  as 
you  deal  with  his  work  during  this  next  month."  I 
feel  as  if  it  will  be  so  with  many  of  you — that  the  Lord 
will  deal  so  with  you  as  you  shall  deal  with  his  Church. 
If  you  scatter  little  you  shall  have  little,  if  you  pray  lit- 
tle you  shall  have  little  favor  ;  but  if  you  have  zeal  and 
faith,  and  plead  much  and  work  much  for  the  Lord, 
good  measure,  pressed  down  and  running  over,  shall 
the  Lord  return  into  your  own  bosoms.  If  you  water 
others  with  drops  you  shall  receive  drops  in  return  ; 
but  if  the  Spirit  helps  you  to  pour  out  rivers  of  living 
water  from  your  own  soul,  then  floods  of  heavenly  grace 
shall  flow  into  your  spirit.  God  bring  in  the  uncon- 
verted, and  lead  them  to  a  simple  trust  in  Jesus  ;  then 
shall  they  also  know  the  joy  of  harvest.  We  ask  it.  for 
his  name's  sake.  Amen. 


SPIRITUAL  GLEANING. 

"  Let  her  glean  even  among  the  sheaves,  and  reproach  her  not." — RUTH  2:15. 

COUNTRY  friends  need  no  explanation  of  what  is 
meant  by  gleaning.  I  hope  the  custom  will  never  be 
banished  from  the  land,  but  that  the  poor  will  always 
be  allowed  their  little  share  of  the  harvest.  I  am  afraid 
that  many  who  see  gleaning  every  year  in  the  fields  of 
their  own  parish  are  not  yet  wise  enough  to  understand 
the  heavenly  art  of  spiritual  gleaning.  That  is  the  sub- 
ject which  I  have  chosen  on  this  occasion,  and  my  text 
is  taken  from  the  charming  story  of  Ruth,  which  is 
known  to  every  one  of  you.  I  shall  use  the  story  as  set- 
ting forth  our  own  case,  in  a  homely  but  instructive 
way.  In  the  first  place,  we  shall  observe  that  there  is  a 
great  Husbandman  ;  it  was  Boaz  in  Ruth's  case,  it  is  our 
heavenly  Father  who  is  the  Husbandman  in  our  case. 
Secondly,  we  shall  notice  a  humble  gleaner ;  the  gleaner 
was  Ruth  in  this  instance,  but  she  may  be  looked  upon 
as  the  representative  of  every  believer.  And,  in  the 
third  place,  here  is  a  gracious  permission  given  to  Ruth  : 
"  Let  her  glean  even  among  the  sheaves,  and  reproach 
her  not,"  and  the  same  permission  is  spiritually  given 
to  us. 

I.  In  the  first  place,  the  God  of  the  whole  earth  is 
A  GREAT  HUSBANDMAN.  This  is  true  in  natural  things. 


SPIRITUAL  GLEANING.  227 

As  a  matter  of  fact  all  farm  operations  are  carried  on  by 
his  power  and  prudence.  Man  may  plough  the  soil,  and 
sow  the  seed  ;  but  as  Jesus  said,  "  My  Father  is  the  hus- 
bandman." He  appoints  the  clouds  and  allots  the  sun- 
shine ;  he  directs  the  winds  and  distributes  the  dew  and 
the  rain  ;  he  also  gives  the  frost  and  the  heat,  and  so 
by  various  processes  of  nature  he  brings  forth  food  for 
man  and  beast.  All  the  farming,  however,  which  God 
does,  is  for  the  benefit  of  others,  and  never  for  himself. 
He  has  no  need  of  any  of  our  works  of  husbandry.  If 
he  were  hungry,  he  would  not  tell  us.  "  The  cattle  on 
a  thousand  hills,"  says  he,  "are  mine."  The  purest 
kindness  and  benevolence  are  those  which  dwell  in  the 
heart  of  God.  Though  all  things  are  God's,  his  works 
in  creation  and  in  providence  are  not  for  himself,  but 
for  his  creatures.  This  should  greatly  encourage  us  in 
trusting  to  him. 

In  spiritual  matters  God  is  a  great  husbandman  ; 
and  there,  too,  all  his  works  are  done  for  his  children, 
that  they  may  be  fed  upon  the  finest  of  the  wheat.  Per- 
mit me  to  speak  of  the  wide  gospel  fields  which  our 
heavenly  Father  farms  for  the  good  of  his  children. 
There  is  a  great  variety  of  these  fields,  and  they  are  all 
fruitful  ;  for  "  the  fountain  of  Jacob  shall  be  upon  a 
land  of  corn  and  wine  ;  also  his  heavens  shall  drop/ 
dowrn  dew."  Deut.  33  :  28.  Every  field  which  our 
heavenly  Father  tills  yields  a  plentiful  harvest,  for  there 
are  no  failures  or  famines  with  him. 

i.  One  part  of  his  farm  is  called  Doctrine  field. 
What  full  sheaves  of  finest  wheat  are  to  be  found  there  ! 
He  who  is  permitted  to  glean  in  it  will  gather  bread 
enough  and  to  spare,  for  the  land  brings  forth  by  hand- 
fuls.  Look  at  that  goodly  sheaf  of  election  ;  full,  indeed, 


228  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

of  heavy  ears  of  corn,  such  as  Pharaoh  saw  in  his  first 
dream — ears  full  and  strong.  There  is  the  great  sheaf 
of  final  perseverance,  where  each  ear  is  a  promise  that 
the  work  which  God  has  begun  he  will  assuredly  com- 
plete. If  we  have  not  faith  enough  to  partake  of  either 
of  these  sheaves,  we  may  glean  around  the  choice 
sheaves  of  redemption  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  Many  a 
poor  soul  who  could  not  feed  on  electing  love,  nor  real- 
ize his  perseverance  in  Christ,  can  yet  feed  on  the 
atonement  and  rejoice  in  the  sublime  doctrine  of  substi- 
tution. Many  and  rich  are  the  sheaves  which  stand  thick 
together  in  Doctrine  field  ;  these,  when  threshed  by 
meditation  and  ground  in  the  mill  of  thought,  furnish 
royal  food  for  the  Lord's  family. 

I  wonder  why  it  is  that  some  of  our  Master's  stew- 
a^ds  are  so  prone  to  lock  the  gate  of  this  field,  as  if  they 
thought  it  dangerous  ground.  For  my  part,  I  wish  my 
people  not  only  to  glean  here,  but  to  carry  home  the 
sheaves  by  the  wagon-load,  for  they  cannot  be  too  well 
fed  when  truth  is  the  food.  Are  my  fellow-laborers 
afraid  that  Jeshurun  will  wax  fat  and  kick,  if  he  has  too 
much  food  ?  I  fear  there  is  more  likelihood  of  his  dying 
of  starvation  if  the  bread  of  sound  doctrine  is  withheld. 
If  we  have  a  love  to  the  precepts  and  warnings  of  the 
word,  we  need  not  be  afraid  of  the  doctrines  ;  on  the 
contrary,  we  should  search  them  out  and  feed  upon  them 
with  joy.  The  doctrines  of  distinguishing  grace  are  to 
be  set  forth  in  due  proportions  to  the  rest  of  the  word, 
and  those  are  poor  pulpits  from  which  these  grand 
truths  are  excluded.  We  must  not  keep  the  Lord's 
people  out  of  this  field.  I  say,  swing  the  gate  open, 
and  come  in,  all  of  you  who  are  children  of  God  !  I  am 
sure  that  in  my  Master's  field  nothing  grows  which  will 


SPIRITUAL    GLEANING.  22Q 

harm  you.  Gospel  doctrine  is  always  safe  doctrine. 
You  may  feast  upon  it  till  you  are  full,  and  no  harm  will 
come  of  it.  Be  afraid  of  no  revealed  truth.  Be  afraid 
of  spiritual  ignorance,  but  not  of  holy  knowledge. 
Grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  your  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  Everything  taught  in  the  word 
of  God  is  meant  to  be  the  subject  of  a  Christian's  study, 
therefore  neglect  nothing.  Visit  the  doctrine  field 
daily,  and  glean  in  it  with  the  utmost  diligence. 

2.  The  great  Husbandman  has  another  field  called 
Promise  field ;  of  that  I  shall  not  need  to  speak,  for  I 
hope  you  often  enter  it  and  glean  from  it.  Just  let  us 
take  an  ear  or  two  out  of  one  of  the  sheaves,  and  show 
them  to  you  that  you  may  be  induced  to  stay  there  the 
live-long  day,  and  carry  home  a  rich  load  at  night. 
Here  is  an  ear  :  "  The  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the 
hills  be  removed  ;  but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart  from 
thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  re- 
moved." Here  is  another:  "When  thou  passest 
through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee  ;  and  through 
the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee  ;  when  thou 
walkest  through  the  fire,  thou  shall  not  be  burned  ; 
neither  shall  the  flame  kindle  upon  thee."  Here  is 
another  ;  it  has  a  short  stalk,  but  a  heavy  ear  :  "  My 
strength  is  sufficient  for  thee."  Another  is  long  in  the 
straw,  but  very  rich  in  corn  :  "  Let  not  your  heart  be 
troubled  :  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me.  In  my 
Father's  house  are  many  mansions  :  if  it  were  not  so  I 
would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you  ; 
and  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you  I  will  come 
again,  and  receive  you  unto  myself  ;  that  where  I  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also."  What  a  word  is  that  !— "  I  will 
come  again."  Yes,  beloved,  we  can  say  of  the  Promise 


236  TALKS   TO   FAkMERS. 

field  what  cannot  be  said  of  a  single  acre  in  all  Eng- 
land ;  namely,  that  it  is  so  rich  a  field  that  it  could  not 
be  richer,  and  that  it  has  so  many  ears  of  corn  in  it  that 
you  could  not  insert  another.  As  the  poet  sings  : 

"  What  more  can  he  say,  than  to  you  he  hath  said, — 
You  who  unto  Jesus  for  refuge  have  fled  ? " 

Glean  in  that  field,  O  ye  poor  and  needy  ones,  and 
never  think  that  you  are  intruding.  The  whole  field  is 
your  own,  every  ear  of  it  ;  you  may  draw  out  from  the 
sheaves  themselves,  and  the  more  you  take  the  more 
you  may. 

3.  Then    there   is   Ordinance  field ;  a   great  deal  of 
good  wheat  grows  in  this  field.     The  field  of  Baptism 
has  been  exceedingly  fruitful  to  some  of  us,  for  it  has 
set  forth  to  us  our  death,  burial,  and   resurrection   in 
Christ,  and  thus  we  have  been   cheered  and  instructed. 
It  has  been  good  for  us  to  declare   ourselves   on   the 
Lord's  side,  and  we  have  found   that   in   keeping  our 
Lord's  commandments  there  is  great  reward.      But  I 
will  not  detain  you  long  in  this  field,  for  some  of  our 
friends  think  it  has  a  damp  soil  :  I  wish  them  more  light 
and  more  grace.     However,  we  will  pass  on  to  the  field 
of  the  Supper,  where  grows  the  very  best  of  our  Lord's 
corn.     What  rich  things  have  we  fed  upon  in  this  choice 
spot  !     Have  we  not  there  tasted  the  sweetest  and  most 
sustaining  of  all  spiritual  food  ?     In  all  the  estate  no  field 
is  to  be  found  to  rival  this  centre  and  crown  of  all  the 
domain  ;  this  is  the  King's  Acre.     Gospel  gleaner,  abide 
in  that  field  ;  glean  in  it  on  the  first  day  of  every  week, 
and  expect  to  see  your  Lord   there  ;  for  it  is  written, 
"  He  was  known  of  them  in  the  breaking  of  bread." 

4.  The  heavenly  Husbandman  has  one  field  upon 


SPIRITUAL  GLEANING.  £31 

a  hill,  which  equals  the  best  of  the  others,  even  if  it 
does  not  excel  them.  You  cannot  really  and  truly  go 
into  any  of  the  other  fields  unless  you  pass  into  this  ; 
for  the  road  to  the  other  fields  lies  through  this  hill 
farm  ;  it  is  called  Fellowship  and  Communion  with  Christ. 
This  is  the  field  for  the  Lord's  choicest  ones  to  glean  in. 
Some  of  you  have  only  run  through  it,  you  have  not 
stopped  long  enough  in  it  ;  but  he  who  knows  how  to 
stay  here,  yea,  to  live  here,  shall  spend  his  hours  most 
profitably  and  pleasantly.  It  is  only  in  proportion  as 
we  hold  fellowship  with  Christ,  and  communion  with 
him,  that  either  ordinances,  or  doctrines,  or  promises 
can  profit  us.  All  other  things  are  dry  and  barren  un- 
less we  are  enjoying  the  love  of  Christ,  unless  we  bear 
his  likeness,  unless  we  dwell  continually  with  him,  and 
rejoice  in  his  love.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  few  Chris- 
tians think  much  of  this  field  ;  it  is  enough  for  them  to 
be  sound  in  doctrine,  and  tolerably  correct  in  practice  ; 
they  care  far  less  than  they  should  about  intimate  in- 
ter course  with  Christ  Jesus,  their  Lord,  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  I  am  sure  that  if  we  gleaned  in  this  field  we 
should  not  have  half  so  many  naughty  tempers,  nor  a 
tenth  as  much  pride,  nor  a  hundredth  part  so  much 
sloth.  This  is  a  field  hedged  and  sheltered,  and  in  it 
you  will  find  better  food  than  that  which  angels  feed 
upon  ;  yea,  you  will  find  Jesus  himself  as  the  bread 
which  came  down  from  heaven.  Blessed,  blessed  field, 
may  we  visit  it  every  day.  The  Master  leaves  the  gate 
wide  open  for  every  believer ;  let  us  enter  in  and 
gather  the  golden  ears  till  we  can  carry  no  more.  Thus 
we  have  seen  the  great  Husbandman  in  his  fields  ;  let 
us  rejoice  that  we  have  such  a  great  Husbandman  near, 
and  such  fields  to  glean  in. 


232  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

II.  And  now,  in  the  second  place,  we  have  A 
HUMBLE  GLEANER.  Ruth  was  a  gleaner,  and  may  serve 
as  an  illustration  of  what  every  believer  should  be  in 
the  fields  of  God. 

1.  The  believer  is  a  favored  gleaner,  for  he  may  take 
home  a  whole  sheaf  if  he  likes  j  he  may  bear  away  all  that 
he  can  possibly  carry,  for  all  things  are  freely  given  him 
of  the  Lord.     I  use  the  figure  of  a  gleaner  because  I  be- 
lieve that  few  Christians  ever  go  much  beyond  it,  and 
yet  they  are  free  to  do  so  if  they  are  able.     Some  may 
say,  Why  does  not  the   believer  reap  all    the  field,  and 
take  all  the  corn  home  with  him  ?     I  answer  that  he  is 
welcome  to  do  so  if  he  can  ;  for  no  good  thing  will  the 
Lord  withhold  from  them  that  walk  uprightly.     If  your 
faith  is   like   a  great  wagon,   and    you    can   carry  the 
whole  field  of  corn,  you  have  full  permission  to  take  it. 
Alas,  our  faith  is  so   little   that   we  rather  glean   than 
reap  ;  we  are  straitened   in  ourselves,  not  in  our  God. 
May  you  all   outgrow  the  metaphor,   and   come  home, 
bringing  your  sheaves  with  you. 

2.  Again,  we  may  remark,  that  the  gleaner  in  her 
business  has  to  endure  much  toil  and  fatigue.     She  rises 
early  in  the  morning,  and  she  trudges  off  to  a  field  ;  if 
that  be  closed,  she  hastens  to  another  ;  and  if  that  be 
shut  up,  or  gleaned  already,  she  hurries  farther  still  ; 
and  all  day  long,  while  the  sun  is  shining  upon  her,  she 
seldom   sits  down  to  refresh  herself,  but  still  she  goes 
on,  stoop,  stoop,  stoop,  gathering  the  ears  one  by  one. 
She  returns  not  to  her  home  till   nightfall  ;  for  she  de- 
sires, if  the  field  is  good,  to  do  much  business  that  day, 
and  she  will  not  go  home  until  she  is  loaded  down.  Be- 
loved, so  let  each  one  of  us  do  when  we  seek  spiritual 
food.     Let  us  not  be  afraid  of  a   little  fatigue  in  the 


SPIRITUAL   GLEANING.  233 

Master's  fields  ;  if  the  gleaning  is  good,  we  must  not 
soon  weary  in  gathering  the  precious  spoil,  for  the 
gains  will  richly  reward  our  pains.  I  know  a  friend 
who  walks  five  miles  every  Sunday  to  hear  the  gospel, 
and  has  the  same  distance  to  return.  Another  thinks 
little  of  a  ten  miles'  journey  ;  and  these  are  wise,  for  to 
hear  the  pure  word  of  God  no  labor  is  extravagant.  To 
stand  in  the  aisle  till  ready  to  drop,  listening  all  the 
while  with  strained  attention,  is  a  toil  which  meets  a 
full  reward  if  the  gospel  be  heard  and  the  Spirit  of  God 
bless  it  to  the  soul.  A  gleaner  does  not  expect  that  the 
ears  will  come  to  her  of  themselves  ;  she  knows  that 
gleaning  is  hard  work.  We  must  not  expect  to  find  the 
best  field  next  to  our  own  house,  we  may  have  to  jour- 
ney to  the  far  end  of  the  parish,  but  what  of  that  ? 
Gleaners  must  not  be  choosers,  and  where  the  Lord 
sends  the  gospel,  there  he  calls  us  to  be  present. 

3.  We  remark,  next,  that  every  ear  the  gleaner  gets  she 
has  to  stoop  for.  Why  is  it  that  proud  people  seldom 
profit  under  the  word  ?  Why  is  it  that  certain  "  intel- 
lectual "  folk  cannot  get  any  good  out  of  our  soundest 
ministers  ?  Why,  because  they  must  needs  have  the 
corn  lifted  up  for  them  ;  and  if  the  wheat  is  held  so  high 
over  their  heads  that  they  can  hardly  see  it,  they  are 
pleased,  and  cry,  "Here  is  something  wonderful." 
They  admire  the  extraordinary  ability  of  the  man  who 
can  hold  up  the  truth  so  high  that  nobody  can  reach  it ; 
but  truly  that  is  a  sorry  feat.  The  preacher's  business 
is  to  place  truth  within  the  reach  of  all,  children  as 
well  as  adults  ;  he  is  to  let  fall  handfuls  on  purpose  for 
poor  gleaners,  and  these  will  never  mind  stooping  to 
collect  the  ears.  If  we  preach  to  the  educated  people 
only,  the  wise  ones  can  understand,  but  the  illiterate 


234  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

cannot  ;  but  when  we  preach  in  all  simplicity  to  the 
poor,  other  classes  can  understand  it  if  they  like,  and  if 
they  do  not  like,  they  had  better  go  somewhere  else. 
Those  who  cannot  stoop  to  pick  up  plain  truth  had 
better  give  up  gleaning.  For  my  part,  I  would  be 
taught  by  a  child  if  I  could  thereby  know  and  under- 
stand the  gospel  better  :  the  gleaning  in  our  Lord's  field 
is  so  rich  that  it  is  worth  the  hardest  labor  to  be  able  to 
carry  home  a  portion  of  it.  Hungry  souls  know  this, 
and  are  not  to  be  hindered  in  seeking  their  heavenly 
food.  We  will  go  down  on  our  knees  in  prayer,  and 
stoop  by  self-humiliation,  and  confession  of  ignorance, 
and  so  gather  with  the  hand  of  faith  the  daily  bread  of 
our  hungering  souls. 

4.  Note,  in  the  next  place,  that  what  a  gleaner  gets 
she  wins  ear  by  ear  ;  occasionally  she  picks  up  a  handful 
at  once,  but  as  a  rule  it  is  straw  by  straw.  In  the  case 
of  Ruth,  handfuls  were  let  fall  on  purpose  for  her  ;  but 
she  was  highly  favored.  The  gleaner  stoops,  and  gets 
one  ear,  and  then  she  stoops  again  for  another.  Now, 
beloved,  where  there  are  handfuls  to  be  got  at  once, 
there  is  the  place  to  go  and  glean  ;  but  if  you  cannot 
meet  with  such  abundance,  be  glad  to  gather  ear  by 
ear.  I  have  heard  of  certain  persons  who  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  hearing  a  favorite  minister,  and  when  they 
go  to  another  place,  they  say,  "  I  cannot  hear  anybody 
after  my  own  minister  ;  I  shall  stay  at  home  and  read 
a  sermon."  Please  remember  the  passage,  "  Not  for- 
saking the  assembling  of  yourselves  together,  as  the 
manner  of  some  is."  Let  me  also  entreat  you  not  to 
be  so  foolishly  partial  as  to  deprive  your  soul  of  its  food. 
If  you  cannot  get  a  handful  at  one  stoop,  do  not  refuse 
to  gather  an  ear  at  a  time.  If  you  are  not  content  to 


SPIRITUAL   GLEANING.  235 

learn  here  a  little  and  there  a  little,  you  will  soon  be 
half  starved,  and  then  you  will  be  glad  to  get  back 
again  to  the  despised  minister  and  pick  up  what  his  field 
will  yield  you.  That  is  a  sorry  ministry  which  yields 
nothing.  Go  and  glean  where  the  Lord  has  opened  the 
gate  for  you.  Why  the  text  alone  is  worth  the  jour- 
ney ;  do  not  miss  it. 

5.  Note,  next,  that  what  the  gleaner  picks  up  she  keeps 
in  her  hand /  she  does  not  drop  the  corn  as  fast  as  she 
gathers  it.  There  is  a  good  thought  at  the  beginning 
of  the  sermon,  but  the  hearers  are  so  eager  to  hear 
another,  that  the  first  one  slips  away.  Toward  the 
end  of  the  sermon  a  large  handful  falls  in  their  way, 
and  they  forget  all  that  went  before  in  their  eagerness 
to  retain  this  last  and  richest  portion.  The  sermon  is 
over,  and,  alas,  it  is  nearly  all  gone  from  the  memory, 
for  many  are  about  as  wise  as  a  gleaner  would  be  if  she 
should  pick  up  one  ear,  and  drop  it  ;  pick  up  another, 
and  drop  it,  and  so  on  all  day.  The  net  result  of  such 
a  day's  work  in  a  stubble  is  a  bad  backache  ;  and  I 
fear  that  all  our  hearers  will  get  by  their  hearing  will 
be  a  headache.  Be  attentive,  but  be  retentive  too. 
Gather  the  grain  and  tie  it  up  in  bundles  for  carrying 
away  with  you,  and  mind  you  do  not  lose  it  on  the  road 
home.  Many  a  person  when  he  has  got  a  fair  hold  of 
the  sermon,  loses  it  on  the  way  to  his  house  by  idle  talk 
with  vain  companions.  I  have  heard  of  a  Christian 
man  who  was  seen  hurrying  home  one  Sunday  with  all 
his  might.  A  friend  asked  him  why  he  was  in  such 
haste.  "  Oh  !  "  said  he,  "  two  or  three  Sundays  ago, 
our  minister  gave  us  a  most  blessed  discourse,  and  I 
greatly  enjoyed  it  ;  but  when  I  got  outside,  there  were 
two  deacons  discussing,  and  one  pulled  the  sermon  one 


236  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

way,  and  the  other  the  other,  till  they  pulled  it  all  to 
pieces,  and  I  lost  all  the  savor  of  it."  Those  must  have 
been  very  bad  deacons  ;  let  us  not  imitate  them  ;  and  if 
we  know  of  any  who  are  of  their  school,  let  us  walk 
home  alone  in  dogged  silence  sooner  than  lose  all  our 
gleanings  by  their  controversies.  After  a  good  sermon 
go  home  with  your  ears  and  your  mouth  shut.  Act 
like  the  miser,  who  not  only  gets  all  he  can,  but  keeps 
all  he  can.  Do  not  lose  by  trifling  talk  that  which  may 
make  you  rich  to  all  eternity. 

6.  Then,  again,  the  gleaner  takes  the  wheat  home  and 
threshes  it.     It  is  a  wise  thing  to  thresh  a  sermon,  who- 
ever may  have  been  the  preacher,  for  it  is  certain  that 
there  is  a  portion  of  straw  and  chaff  about  it.     Many 
thresh  the  preacher  by  finding  needless  fault  ;  but  that 
is  not  half  so  good  as  threshing  the  sermon  to  get  out 
of  it  the  pure  truth.     Take  a  sermon,   beloved,    when 
you  get  one  which  is  worth  having,  and  lay  it  down  on 
the  floor  of  meditation,  and  beat  it  out  with  the  flail  of 
prayer,  and  you  will  get  bread-corn  from  it.    This  thresh- 
ing by  prayer  and  meditation  must  never  be  neglected. 
If  a  gleaner  should  stow  away  her  corn  in  her  room,  and 
leave  it  there,  the  mice  would  get  at  it  ;  but  she  would 
have  no  food  from  it  if  she  did  not  thresh  out  the  grain. 
Some  get  a  sermon,  and  carry  it  home,  and  allow  Satan 
and  sin,  and  the  world,  to  eat  it  all  up,  and  it  becomes 
unfruitful  and  worthless  to  them.     But  he  who  knows 
how  to  flail  a  sermon  well,  so  as  to  clear  out  all  the 
wheat  from  the  straw,  he  is  it  that  makes  a  good  hearer 
and  feeds  his  soul  on  what  he  hears. 

7.  And   then,  in   the  last  place,  the  good  woman, 
after  threshing  the  corn,  no  doubt  winnowed  it.     Ruth 
did  all  this  in  the  field  ;  but  you  can  scarcely  do  so. 


SPIRITUAL   GLEANING.  237 

You  must  do  some  of  the  work  at  home.  And  observe, 
she  did  not  take  the  chaff  home  ;  she  left  that  behind 
her  in  the  field.  It  is  a  prudent  thing  to  winnow  all 
the  discourses  you  hear  so  as  to  separate  the  precious 
from  the  vile  ;  but  pray  do  not  fall  into  the  silly  habit 
of  taking  home  all  the  chaff,  and  leaving  the  corn  be- 
hind. I  think  I  hear  you  say,  "  I  shall  recollect  that 
queer  expression  ;  I  shall  make  an  anecdote  out  of  that 
odd  remark."  Listen,  then,  for  I  have  a  word  for  you 
— if  you  hear  a  man  retail  nothing  about  a  minister  ex- 
cept his  oddities,  just  stop  him,  and  say,  "  We  have  all 
our  faults,  and  perhaps  those  who  are  most  ready  to 
speak  of  those  of  others  are  not  quite  perfect  them- 
selves :  cannot  you  tell  us  what  the  preacher  said  that 
was  worth  hearing?"  In  many  cases  the  virtual 
answer  will  be,  "  Oh,  I  don't  recollect  that."  They 
have  sifted  the  corn,  thrown  away  the  good  grain,  and 
brought  home  the  chaff.  Ought  they  not  to  be  put  in 
an  asylum  ?  Follow  the  opposite  rule  ;  drop  the  straw, 
and  retain  the  good  corn.  Separate  between  the  pre- 
cious and  the  vile,  and  let  the  worthless  material  go 
where  it  may  ;  you  have  no  use  for  it,  and  the  sooner 
you  are  rid  of  it  the  better.  Judge  with  care  ;  reject 
false  teaching  with  decision,  and  retain  true  doctrine 
with  earnestness,  so  shall  you  practise  the  enriching  art 
of  heavenly  gleaning.  May  the  Lord  teach  us  wisdom, 
so  that  we  may  become  "  rich  to  all  the  intents  of 
bliss  ;"  so  shall  our  mouth  be  satisfied  with  good 
things,  and  our  youth  shall  be  renewed  like  the  eagle's. 

i 

III.  And  now,  in  the  last  place,  here  is  A  GRACIOUS 
PERMISSION  GIVEN  :  "  Let  her  glean  among  the  sheaves, 
and  reproach  her  not."  Ruth  had  no  right  to  go  among 


238  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

the  sheaves  till  Boaz  gave  her  permission  by  saying, 
"  Let  her  do  it."  For  her  to  be  allowed  to  go  among 
the  sheaves,  in  that  part  of  the  field  where  the  wheat 
was  newly  cut,  and  none  of  it  carted,  was  a  great  favor  : 
but  Boaz  whispered  that  handfuls  were  to  be  dropped 
on  purpose  for  her,  and  that  was  a  greater  favor  still. 
Boaz  had  a  secret  love  for  the  maiden,  and  even  so, 
beloved,  it  is  because  of  our  Lord's  eternal  love  to  us 
that  he  allows  us  to  enter  his  best  fields  and  glean 
among  the  sheaves.  His  grace  permits  us  to  lay  hold 
upon  doctrinal  blessings,  promise  blessings,  and  ex- 
perience blessings  :  the  Lord  has  a  favor  toward  us, 
and  hence  these  singular  kindnesses.  We  have  no  right 
to  any  heavenly  blessings  of  ourselves  ;  our  portion  is 
due  to  free  and  sovereign  grace. 

I  tell  you  the  reasons  that  moved  Boaz's  heart  to 
let  Ruth  go  among  the  sheaves.  The  master  motive 
was  because  he  loved  her.  He  would  have  her  go  there, 
because  he  had  conceived  an  affection  for  her,  which  he 
afterward  displayed  in  grander  ways.  So  the  Lord  lets 
his  people  come  and  glean  among  the  sheaves,  because 
he  loves  them.  Didst  thou  have  a  soul-enriching  season 
among  the  sheaves  the  other  Sabbath  ?  Didst  thou 
carry  home  thy  sack,  filled  like  those  of  Joseph's 
brothers,  when  they  returned  from  Egypt  ?  Didst  thou 
have  an  abundance  ?  Wast  thou  satisfied  ?  Mark  ; 
that  was  thy  Master's  goodness.  It  was  because  he 
loved  thee.  Look,  I  beseech  thee,  on  all  thy  spiritual 
enjoyments  as  proof  of  his  eternal  love.  Look  on  all 
heavenly  blessings  as  being  tokens  of  heavenly  grace. 
It  will  make  thy  corn  grind  all  the  better,  and  eat  all 
the  sweeter,  if  thou  wilt  reflect  that  eternal  love  gave  it 
thee.  Thy  sweet  seasons,  thy  high  enjoyments,  thy  un- 


SPIRITUAL   GLEANING.  239 

speakable  ravishments  of  spirit  are  all  proofs  of  divine 
affection,  therefore  be  doubly  glad  of  them. 

There  was  another  reason  why  Boaz  allows  Ruth  to 
glean  among  the  sheaves  ;  it  was  because  he  was  her 
relative.  This  is  why  our  Lord  gives  us  choice  favors 
at  times,  and  takes  us  into  his  banqueting-house  in  so 
gracious  a  manner.  He  is  our  next  of  kin,  bone  of  our 
bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh.  Our  Redeemer,  our  kins- 
man, is  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  he  will  never  be  strange  to 
his  own  flesh.  It  is  a  high  and  charming  mystery  that 
our  Lord  Jesus  is  the  Husband  of  his  church  ;  and  sure 
he  may  well  let  his  spouse  glean  among  the  sheaves  ; 
for  all  that  he  possesses  is  hers  already.  Her  interests 
and  his  interests  are  one,  and  so  he  may  well  say, 
"  Beloved,  take  all  thou  pleasest  ;  I  am  none  the  poorer 
because  thou  dost  partake  of  my  fulness,  for  thou  art 
mine.  Thou  art  my  partner,  and  my  choice,  and  all 
that  I  have  is  thine."  What,  then,  shall  I  say  to  you 
who  are  my  Lord's  beloved  ?  How  shall  I  speak  with  a 
tenderness  and  generosity  equal  to  his  desires,  for  he 
would  have  me  speak  right  lovingly  in  his  name.  En- 
rich yourselves  out  of  that  which  is  your  Lord's.  Go 
a  spiritual  gleaning  as  often  as  ever  you  can.  Never 
lose  an  opportunity  of  picking  up  a  golden  blessing. 
Glean  at  the  mercy-seat  ;  glean  in  private  meditation  ; 
glean  in  reading  pious  books  ;  glean  in  associating  with 
godly  men  ;  glean  everywhere  ;  and  if  you  can  get  only 
a  little  handful  it  will  be  better  than  none.  You  who 
are  so  much  in  business,  and  so  much  penned  up  by 
cares  ;  if  you  can  only  spend  five  minutes  in  the  Lord's 
field  gleaning  a  little,  be  sure  to  do  so.  If  you  cannot 
bear  away  a  sheaf,  carry  an  ear  ;  and  if  you  cannot 
find  an  ear,  pick  up  even  a  grain  of  wheat.  Take  care 


240  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

to  get  a  little,  if  you  cannot  get  much  :  but  gather  as 
much  as  ever  you  can. 

Just  one  other  remark.  O  child  of  God,  never  be 
afraid  to  glean.  Have  faith  in  God,  and  take  the 
promises  home  to  yourself.  Jesus  will  rejoice  to  see 
you  making  free  with  his  good  things.  His  voice  is 
"  Eat  abundantly  ;  drink,  yea,  drink  abundantly,  O  be- 
loved." Therefore,  if  you  find  a  rich  promise,  live 
upon  it.  Draw  the  honey  out  of  the  comb  of  Scripture, 
and  live  on  its  sweetness.  If  you  meet  with  a  most  ex- 
traordinary sheaf,  carry  it  away  rejoicing.  You  cannot 
believe  too  much  concerning  your  Lord  ;  let  not  Satan 
cheat  you  into  contentment  with  a  meagre  portion  of 
grace  when  all  the  granaries  of  heaven  are  open  to 
you.  Glean  on  with  humble  industry  and  hopeful  con- 
fidence, and  know  that  he  who  owns  both  fields  and 
sheaves  is  looking  upon  you  with  eyes  of  love,  and  will 
one  day  espouse  you  to  himself  in  glory  everlasting. 
Happy  gleaner  who  finds  eternal  love  and  eternal  life 
in  the  fields  in  which  he  gleans  ! 


MEAL-TIME  IN  THE  CORNFIELDS. 

"  And  Boaz  said  unto  her,  At  meal-time  come  thou  hither,  and  eat  of  the 
bread,  and  dip  thy  morsel  in  the  vinegar.  And  she  sat  beside  the  reapers : 
and  he  reached  her  parched  corn,  and  she  did  eat,  and  was  sufficed,  and  left." 
— RUTH  2  : 14. 

WE  are  going  to  the  cornfields,  not  so  much  to 
glean,  as  to  rest  with  the  reapers  and  gleaners,  when 
under  some  wide-spreading  oak  they  sit  down  to  take 
refreshment.  We  hope  some  timid  gleaner  will  accept 
our  invitation  to  come  and  eat  with  us,  and  will  have 
confidence  enough  to  dip  her  morsel  in  the  vinegar. 
May  all  of  us  have  courage  to  feast  to  the  full  on  our 
own  account,  and  kindness  enough  to  carry  home  a 
portion  to  our  needy  friends  at  home. 

I.  Our  first  point  of  remark  is  this — THAT  GOD'S 

REAPERS  HAVE  THEIR  MEAL-TIMES. 

Those  who  work  for  God  will  find  him  a  good 
master.  He  cares  for  oxen,  and  he  has  commanded 
Israel,  "  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the  ox  when  he  treadeth 
out  the  corn."  Much  more  doth  he  care  for  his  ser- 
vants who  serve  him.  "  He  hath  given  meat  unto  them 
that  fear  him  :  he  will  ever  be  mindful  of  his  cove- 
nant." The  reapers  in  Jesus'  fields  shall  not  only  re- 
ceive a  blessed  reward  at  the  last,  but  they  shall  have 
plenteous  comforts  by  the  way.  He  is  pleased  to  pay 
his  servants  twice  ;  first  in  the  labor  itself,  and  a  second 


242  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

time  in  the  labor's  sweet  results.  He  gives  them  such 
joy  and  consolation  in  the  service  of  their  Master  that 
it  is  a  sweet  employ,  and  they  cry,  "  We  delight  to  do 
thy  will,  O  Lord."  Heaven  is  made  up  of  serving  God 
day  and  night,  and  a  foretaste  of  heaven  is  enjoyed  in 
serving  God  on  earth  with  earnest  perseverance. 

God  has  ordained  certain  meal-times  for  his  reap- 
ers ;  and  he  has  appointed  that  one  of  these  shall  be 
when  they  come  together  to  listen  to  the  Word  preached.  If 
God  be  with  ministers  they  act  as  the  disciples  did  of 
old,  for  they  received  the  loaves  and  the  fishes  from  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  then  they  handed  them  to  the  people. 
We,  of  ourselves,  cannot  feed  one  soul,  much  less  thou- 
sands ;  but  when  the  Lord  is  with  us  we  can  keep  as 
good  a  table  as  Solomon  himself,  with  all  his  fine  flour, 
and  fat  oxen,  and  roebucks,  and  fallow-deer.  When  the 
Lord  blesses  the  provisions  of  his  House,  no  matter 
how  many  thousands  there  may  be,  all  his  poor  shall  be 
filled  with  bread.  I  hope,  beloved,  you  know  what  it  is 
to  sit  under  the  shadow  of  the  Word  with  great  delight, 
and  find  the  fruit  thereof  sweet  unto  your  taste.  Where 
the  doctrines  of  grace  are  boldly  and  plainly  delivered 
to  you  in  connection  with  the  other  truths  of  revelation  ; 
where  Jesus  Christ  upon  his  cross  is  always  lifted  up  ; 
where  the  work  of  the  Spirit  is  not  forgotten  ;  where  the 
glorious  purpose  of  the  Father  is  never  despised,  there 
is  sure  to  be  rich  provision  for  the  children  of  God. 

Often,  too,  our  gracious  Lord  appoints  us  meal- 
times in  our  private  readings  and  meditations.  Here  it  is 
that  his  "  paths  drop  fatness."  Nothing  can  be  more 
fattening  to  the  soul  of  the  believer  than  feeding  upon 
the  Word,  and  digesting  it  by  frequent  meditation. 
No  wonder  that  men  grow  so  slowly  when  they  meditate 


MEAL-TIME   IN    THE   CORNFIELDS.  243 

so  little.  Cattle  must  chew  the  cud  ;  it  is  not  that 
which  they  crop  with  their  teeth,  but  that  which  is 
masticated,  and  digested  by  rumination,  that  nourishes 
them.  We  must  take  the  truth,  and  turn  it  over  and 
over  again  in  the  inward  parts  of  our  spirit,  and  so 
shall  we  extract  suitable  nourishment  therefrom.  My 
brethren,  is  not  meditation  the  land  of  Goshen  to  you  ? 
If  men  once  said,  "There  is  corn  in  Egypt,"  may 
they  not  always  say  that  the  finest  of  the  wheat  is  to  be 
found  in  secret  prayer  ?  Private  devotion  is  a  land 
which  floweth  with  milk  and  honey  ;  a  paradise  yield- 
ing all  manner  of  fruits  ;  a  banqueting  house  of  choice 
wines.  Ahasuerus  might  make  a  great  feast,  but  all  his 
hundred  and  twenty  provinces  could  not  furnish  such 
dainties  as  meditation  offers  to  the  spiritual  mind. 
Where  can  we  feed  and  lie  down  in  green  pastures  in  so 
sweet  a  sense  as  we  do  in  our  musings  on  the  Word  ? 
Meditation  distils  the  quintessence  of  joy  from  the 
Scriptures,  and  gladdens  our  mouth  with  a  sweetness 
which  excels  the  virgin  honey.  Your  retired  periods 
and  occasions  of  prayer  should  be  to  you  refreshing  sea- 
sons, in  which,  like  the  reapers  at  noonday,  you  sit  with 
the  Master  and  enjoy  his  generous  provisions.  The 
Shepherd  of  Salisbury  Plain  was  wont  to  say  that  when 
he  was  lonely,  and  his  wallet  was  empty,  his  Bible  was 
to  him  meat  and  drink,  and  company  too  ;  he  is  not  the 
only  man  who  has  found  a  fulness  in  the  Word  when  all 
else  has  been  empty.  During  the  battle  of  Waterloo  a 
godly  soldier,  mortally  wounded,  was  carried  by  his 
comrade  into  the  rear,  and  being  placed  with  his  back 
propped  up  against  a  tree,  he  besought  his  friend  to 
open  his  knapsack  and  take  out  the  Bible  which  he  had 
carried  in  it.  "  Read  to  me,"  he  said,  "  one  verse  be- 


244  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

fore  I  close  my  eyes  in  death."  His  comrade  read  him 
that  verse  :  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I  give 
unto  you  :  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you  ;" 
and  there,  fresh  from  the  whistling  of  the  bullets,  and 
the  roll  of  the  drum,  and  the  tempest  of  human  conflict, 
that  believing  spirit  enjoyed  such  holy  calm  that  ere  he 
fell  asleep  in  the  arms  of  Jesus  he  said,  "  Yes,  I  have  a 
peace  with  God  which  passeth  all  understanding,  which 
keeps  my  heart  and  mind  through  Jesus  Christ."  Saints 
most  surely  enjoy  delightful  meal-times  when  they  are 
alone  in  meditation. 

Let  us  not  forget  that  there  is  one  specially  ordained 
meal-time  which  ought  to  occur  at  least  once  in  the 
week — I  mean  the  Supper  of  the  Lord.  There  you  have 
literally,  as  well  as  spiritually,  a  meal.  The  table  is 
richly  spread,  it  has  upon  it  both  bread  and  wine  ;  and 
looking  at  what  these  symbolize,  we  have  before  us  a 
table  richer  than  that  which  kings  could  furnish.  There 
we  have  the  flesh  and  the  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  whereof  if  a  man  eat  he  shall  never  hunger  and 
never  thirst,  for  that  bread  shall  be  unto  him  everlasting 
life.  Oh  !  the  sweet  seasons  we  have  known  at  the 
Lord's  Supper.  If  some  of  you  knew  the  enjoyment  of 
feeding  upon  Christ  in  that  ordinance  you  would  chide 
yourselves  for  not  having  united  with  the  Church  in 
fellowship.  In  keeping  the  Master's  commandments 
there  is  "  great  reward,"  and  consequently  in  neglect- 
ing them  there  is  great  loss  of  reward.  Christ  is  not 
so  tied  to  the  sacramental  table  as  to  be  always  found 
of  those  who  partake  thereat,  but  still  it  is  "  in  the  way" 
that  we  may  expect  the  Lord  to  meet  with  us.  "  If  ye 
love  me,  keep  my  commandments,"  is  a  sentence  of 
touching  power.  Sitting  at  this  table,  our  soul  has 


MEAL-TIME   IN    THE    CORNFIELDS.  245 

mounted  up  from  the  emblem  to  the  reality  ;  we  have 
eaten  bread  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  have  leaned 
our  head  upon  Jesus'  bosom.  "  He  brought  me  to  the 
banqueting-house,  and  his  banner  over  me  was  love." 

Besides  these  regular  meal-times,  there  are  others 
which  God  gives  us,  at  seasons  when,  perhaps,  we  little  ex- 
pect them.  You  have  been  walking  the  street,  and  sud- 
denly you  have  felt  a  holy  flowing  out  of  your  soul  tow- 
ard God  ;  or  in  the  middle  of  business  your  heart  has 
been  melted  with  love  and  made  to  dance  for  joy,  even 
as  the  brooks,  which  have  been  bound  with  winter's  ice, 
leap  to  feel  the  touch  of  spring.  You  have  been  groan- 
ing, dull,  and  earth-bound  ;  but  the  sweet  love  of  Jesus 
has  enwrapped  your  heart  when  you  scarce  thought  of 
it,  and  your  spirit,  all  free,  and  all  on  fire,  has  rejoiced 
before  the  Lord  with  timbrel  and  dance,  like  Miriam  of 
old.  I  have  had  times  occasionally  in  preaching  when 
I  would  fain  have  kept  on  far  beyond  the  appointed 
hour,  for  my  overflowing  soul  has  been  like  a  vessel 
wanting  vent.  Seasons,  too,  we  have  had  on  our  sick 
beds,  when  we  would  have  been  content  to  be  sick  al- 
ways if  we  could  have  had  our  bed  so  well  made  by 
tender  love,  and  our  head  so  softly  pillowed  on  conde- 
scending grace. 

Our  blessed  Redeemer  comes  to  us  in  the  morning, 
and  wakes  us  up  by  dropping  sweet  thoughts  upon  our 
souls  ;  we  know  not  how  they  came,  but  it  is  as  if,  when 
the  dew  was  visiting  the  flowers,  a  few  drops  had  taken 
pity  upon  us.  In  the  cool  eventide,  too,  as  we  have 
gone  to  our  bed,  our  meditation  of  him  has  been  sweet ; 
and,  in  the  night  watches,  when  we  tossed  to  and  fro, 
and  could  not  sleep,  he  has  been  pleased  to  become  our 
song  in  the  night. 


246  1'ALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

God's  reapers  find  it  hard  work  to  reap  ;  but  they 
gain  a  blessed  solace  when  in  one  way  or  another  they 
sit  down  and  eat  of  their  Master's  rich  provisions  ;  then, 
with  renewed  strength,  they  rise  with  sharpened  sickle, 
to  reap  again  in  the  noontide  heat. 

Let  me  observe  that,  while  these  meal-times  come  we 
know  not  exactly  when,  there  are  certain  seasons  when  we 
may  expect  them.  The  Eastern  reapers  generally  sit 
down  under  the  shelter  of  a  tree,  or  a  booth,  to  take 
refreshment  during  the  heat  of  the  day.  And  certain  I 
am  that  when  trouble,  affliction,  persecution,  and  be- 
reavement become  the  most  painful  to  us,  it  is  then 
that  the  Lord  hands  out  to  us  the  sweetest  comforts. 
We  must  work  till  the  hot  sun  forces  the  sweat  from 
our  faces,  and  then  we  may  look  for  repose  ;  we  must 
bear  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day  before  we  can  ex- 
pect to  be  invited  to  those  choice  meals  which  the  Lord 
prepares  for  true  laborers.  When  thy  day  of  trouble  is 
hottest,  then  the  love  of  Jesus  shall  be  sweetest. 

Again,  these  meal-times  frequently  occur  before  a 
trial.  Elijah  must  be  entertained  beneath  a  juniper  tree, 
for  he  is  to  go  a  forty  days'  journey  in  the  strength  of 
that  meat.  You  may  suspect  some  danger  nigh  when 
your  delights  are  overflowing.  If  you  see  a  ship  taking 
in  great  quantities  of  provision,  it  is  probably  bound 
for  a  distant  port,  and  when  God  gives  you  extraordi- 
nary seasons  of  communion  with  Jesus,  you  may  look 
for  long  leagues  of  tempestuous  sea.  Sweet  cordials 
prepare  for  stern  conflicts. 

Times  of  refreshing  also  occur  after  trouble  or  ardu- 
ous service.  Christ  was  tempted  of  the  devil,  and  after- 
ward angels  came  and  ministered  unto  him.  Jacob 
wrestled  with  God,  and  afterward,  at  Mahanaim,  host? 


MEAL-tlME   IN    THE   CORNFIELDS.  247 

of  angels  met  him.  Abraham  fought  with  the  kings, 
and  returned  from  their  slaughter,  and  then  it  was  that 
Melchisedec  refreshed  him  with  bread  and  wine.  After 
conflict,  content  ;  after  battle,  banquet.  When  thou 
hast  waited  on  thy  Lord,  then  thou  shalt  sit  down,  and 
thy  Master  will  gird  himself  and  wait  upon  thee. 

Let  worldlings  say  what  they  will  about  the  hard- 
ness of  religion,  we  do  not  find  it  so.  We  own  that 
reaping  for  Christ  has  its  difficulties  and  troubles  ;  but 
still  the  bread  which  we  eat  is  of  heavenly  sweetness, 
and  the  wine  which  we  drink  is  crushed  from  celestial 
clusters  : 

"  I  would  not  change  my  bless'd  estate 
For  all  the  world  calls  good  or  great ; 
And  while  my  faith  can  keep  her  hold, 
I  envy  not  the  sinner's  gold." 

II.  Follow   me  while  we  turn  to  a  second   point. 

TO  THESE  MEALS  THE  GLEANER  IS  AFFECTIONATELY  INVITED. 

That  is  to  say,  the  poor,  trembling  stranger  who  has 
not  strength  enough  to  reap,  who  has  no  right  to  be  in 
the  field  except  the  right  of  charity — the  poor,  trem- 
bling sinner,  conscious  of  his  own  demerit,  and  feeling 
but  little  hope  and  little  joy,  is  invited  to  the  feast 
of  love. 

In  the  text  the  gleaner  is  invited  to  come.  "  At  meal- 
time come  thou  hither."  We  trust  none  of  you  will  be 
kept  away  from  the  place  of  holy  feasting  by  any  shame 
on  account  of  your  dress,  or  your  personal  character,  or 
your  poverty  ;  nay,  nor  even  on  account  of  your  physi- 
cal infirmities.  "  At  meal-time  come  thou  hither."  I 
knew  a  deaf  woman  who  could  never  hear  a  sound,  and 
yet  she  was  always  in  the  House  of  God,  and  when 


248  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

asked  why,  her  reply  was  that  a  friend  found  her  the 
text,  and  then  God  was  pleased  to  give  her  many  a  sweet 
thought  upon  it  while  she  sat  with  his  people  ;  besides, 
she  felt  that  as  a  believer  she  ought  to  honor  God  by 
her  presence  in  his  courts,  and  by  confessing  her  union 
with  his  people  ;  and,  better  still,  she  always  liked  to 
be  in  the  best  of  company,  and  as  the  presence  of  God 
was  there,  and  the  holy  angels,  and  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High,  whether  she  could  hear  or  no,  she  would 
go.  If  such  persons  find  pleasure  in  coming,  we  who  can 
hear  should  never  stay  away.  Though  we  feel  our  un- 
worthiness,  we  ought  to  be  desirous  to  be  laid  in  the 
House  of  God,  as  the  sick  were  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda, 
hoping  that  the  waters  may  be  stirred,  and  that  we  may 
step  in  and  be  healed.  Trembling  soul,  never  let  the 
temptations  of  the  devil  keep  thee  from  the  assembly  of 
worshippers  ;  "  at  meal-time  come  thou  hither." 

Moreover,  she  was  bidden  not  only  to  come  but  to  eat. 
Whatever  there  is  sweet  and  comfortable  in  the  Word 
of  God,  ye  that  are  of  a  broken  and  contrite  spirit  are 
invited  to  partake  of  it.  "Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners" — sinners  such  Nas  you  are.  "  In 
due  time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly" — such  ungodly 
ones  as  you  feel  yourselves  to  be.  You  desire  to  be 
Christ's.  You  way  be  Christ's.  You  are  saying  in  your 
heart,  "  O  that  I  could  eat  the  children's  bread  !" 
You  may  eat  it.  You  say,  "  I  have  no  right."  But  the 
Lord  gives  you  the  invitation.  Come  without  any  other 
right  than  the  right  of  his  invitation. 

"  Let  not  conscience  make  you  linger, 
Nor  of  fitness  fondly  dream." 

But  since  he  bids  you  "  come."  take  him  at  his  word  ; 


MEAL-TIME   IN    THE    CORNFIELDS.  249 

and  if  there  be  a  promise,  believe  it  ;  if  there  be  an  en- 
couraging word,  accept  it,  and  let  the  sweetness  of  it 
be  yours. 

Note  further,  that  she  was  not  only  invited  to  eat 
the  bread,  but  to  dip  her  morsel  in  the  vinegar.  We  must 
not  look  upon  this  as  being  some  sour  stuff.  No  doubt 
there  are  crabbed  souls  in  the  church,  who  always  dip 
their  morsel  in  the  sourest  imaginable  vinegar,  and  with 
a  grim  liberality  invite  others  to  share  their  misery  with 
them  ;  but  the  vinegar  in  my  text  is  altogether  another 
thing.  This  was  either  a  compound  of  various  juices 
expressed  from  fruits,  or  else  it  was  that  weak  kind  of 
wine  mingled  with  water  which  is  still  commonly  used 
in  the  harvest-fields  of  Italy  and  the  warmer  parts  of  the 
world— a  drink  not  exceedingly  strong,  but  good 
enough  to  impart  a  relish  to  the  food.  It  was,  to  use 
the  only  word  which  will  give  the  meaning,  a  sauce, 
which  the  Orientals  used  with  their  bread.  As  we  use 
butter,  or  as  they  on  other  occasions  used  oil,  so  in  the 
harvest-field,  believing  it  to  have  cooling  properties, 
they  used  what  is  here  called  "  vinegar."  Beloved,  the 
Lord's  reapers  have  sauce  with  their  bread  ;  they  have 
not  merely  doctrines,  but  the  holy  unction  which  is  the 
essence  of  doctrines  ;  they  have  not  merely  truths,  but 
a  hallowed  delight  accompanies  the  truths.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  doctrine  of  election,  which  is  like  the 
bread  ;  there  is  a  sauce  to  dip  it  in.  When  I  can  say, 
"  He  loved  me  before  the  foundations  of  the  world," 
the  personal  enjoyment  of  my  interest  in  the  truth  be- 
comes a  sauce  into  which  I  dip  my  morsel.  And  you, 
poor  gleaner,  are  invited  to  dip  your  morsel  in  it  too. 
I  used  to  hear  people  sing  that  hymn  of  Toplady's, 
which  begins — 


2£0  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

"  A  debtor  to  mercy  alone, 
Of  covenant  mercy  I  sing  ; 
Nor  fear,  with  thy  righteousness  on, 
My  person  and  offering  to  bring." 

The  hymn  rises  to  its  climax  in  the  lines — 

"  Yes,  I  to  the  end  shall  endure, 
As  sure  as  the  earnest  is  given  ; 
More  happy,  but  not  more  secure, 
The  glorified  spirits  in  heaven." 

I  used  to  think  I  should  never  be  able  to  sing  that  hymn. 
It  was  the  sauce,  you  know.  I  might  manage  to  eat 
some  of  the  plain  bread,  but  I  could  not  dip  it  in  that 
sauce.  It  was  too  high  doctrine,  too  sweet,  too  consol- 
ing. But  I  thank  God  I  have  since  ventured  to  dip  my 
morsel  in  it,  and  now  I  hardly  like  my  bread  without  it. 

I  would  have  every  trembling  sinner  partake  of  the 
comfortable  parts  of  God's  Word,  even  those  which  cav- 
illers call  "  HIGH  DOCTRINE."  Let  him  believe  the 
simpler  truth  first,  and  then  dip  it  in  the  sweet  doctrine 
and  be  happy  in  the  Lord. 

I  think  I  see  the  gleaner  half  prepared  to  come,  for 
she  is  very  hungry,  and  she  has  nothing  with  her  ;  but 
she  begins  to  say,  "  I  have  no  right  to  come,  for  I  am 
not  a  reaper  ;  I  do  nothing  for  Christ  ;  I  am  only  a  sel- 
fish gleaner  ;  I  am  not  a  reaper."  Ah  !  but  thou  art 
invited  to  come.  Make  no  questions  about  it.  Boaz 
bids  thee  ;  take  thou  his  invitation,  and  approach  at 
once.  "But,"  you  say,  "I  am  such  a  poor  gleaner; 
though  my  labor  is  all  for  myself,  yet  it  is  little  I  win 
by  it  ;  I  get  a  few  thoughts  while  the  sermon  is  being 
preached,  but  I  lose  them  before  I  reach  home."  I  know 
you  do,  poor  weak-handed  woman.  But  still,  Jesus 
invites  thee.  Come  !  Take  thou  the  sweet  promise  as  he 


MEAL-TIME   IN    THE   CORNFIELDS.  251 

presents  it  to  thee,  and  let  no  bashfulness  of  thine  send 
thee  home  hungry.  "  But,"  you  say,  "  I  am  a  stranger; 
you  'do  not  know  my  sins,  my  sinfulness,  and  the  way- 
wardness of  my  heart."  But  Jesus  does,  and  yet  he 
invites  you.  He  knows  you  are  but  a  Moabitess,  a 
stranger  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel  ;  but  he  bids 
you  come.  Is  not  that  enough  ?  "  But,"  you  say,  "  I 
owe  so  much  to  him  already  ;  it  is  so  good  of  him  to 
spare  my  forfeited  life,  and  so  tender  of  him  to  let  me 
hear  the  gospel  preached  at  all  ;  I  cannot  have  the  pre- 
sumption to  be  an  intruder,  and  sit  with  the  reapers." 
Oh  !  but  he  bids  you.  There  is  more  presumption  in 
your  doubting  than  there  could  be  in  your  believing. 
HE  bids  you.  Will  you  refuse  Boaz  ?  Shall  Jesus'  lips 
give  the  invitation,  and  will  you  say  him  nay  ?  Come, 
now,  come.  Remember  that  the  little  which  Ruth  could 
eat  did  not  make  Boaz  any  the  poorer  ;  and  all  that 
thou  wantest  will  make  Christ  none  the  less  glorious  or 
full  of  grace.  Are  thy  necessities  large  ?  His  supplies 
are  larger.  Dost  thou  require  great  mercy  ?  He  is  a 
great  Saviour.  I  tell  thee  that  his  mercy  is  no  more  to 
be  exhausted  than  the  sea  is  to  be  drained.  Come  at 
once.  There  is  enough  for  thee,  and  Boaz  will  not  be 
impoverished  by  thy  feasting  to  the  full.  Moreover,  let 
me  tell  thee  a  secret — Jesus  loves  thee  ;  therefore  is  it 
that  he  would  have  thee  feed  at  his  table.  If  thou  art 
now  a  longing,  trembling  sinner,  willing  to  be  saved, 
but  conscious  that  thou  deservest  it  not,  Jesus  loves 
thee,  and  he  will  take  more  delight  in  seeing  thee  eat 
than  thou  wilt  take  in  the  eating.  Let  the  sweet  love 
he  feels  in  his  soul  toward  thee  draw  thee  to  him.  And 
what  is  more — but  this  is  a  great  secret,  and  must  only 
be  whispered  in  your  ear — he  intends  to  be  married  to  you  ; 


«52  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

and  when  you  are  married  to  him,  why,  the  fields  will 
be  yours  ;  for,  of  course,  if  you  are  his  spouse,  you  are 
joint  proprietor  with  him.  Is  it  not  so  ?  Doth  not  the 
wife  share  with  the  husband  ?  All  those  promises  which 
are  "  yea  and  amen  in  Christ  "  shall  be  yours  ;  nay, 
they  all  are  yours  now,  for  "  the  man  is  next  of  kin  unto 
you.,"  and  ere  long  he  will  take  you  unto  himself  for- 
ever, espousing  you  in  faithfulness,  and  truth,  and  right- 
eousness. Will  you  not  eat  of  your  own  ?  "Oh!  but," 
says  one,  "  how  can  it  be  ?  I  am  a  stranger."  Yes,  a 
stranger  ;  but  Jesus  Christ  loves  the  stranger.  "  A  publi- 
can, a  sinner;"  but  he  is  "  the  friend  of  publicans  and  sin-~ 
ners."  "  An  outcast  ;"  but  he  "  gathereth  together  the 
outcasts  of  Israel."  "  A  stray  sheep  ;"  but  the  shep- 
herd "  leaves  the  ninety  and  nine"  to  seek  it.  "  A  lost 
piece  of  money  ;"  but  he  "  sweeps  the  house"  to  find 
thee.  "  A  prodigal  son  ;"  but  he  sets  the  bells  a- ring- 
ing when  he  knows  that  thou  wilt  return.  Come, 
Ruth  !  Come,  trembling  gleaner  !  Jesus  invites  thee  ; 
accept  the  invitation.  "  At  meal-time  come  thou  hither, 
and  eat  of  the  bread,  and  dip  thy  morsel  in  the 
vinegar.  ' 

III.  Now,  thirdly — and  here  is  a  very  sweet  point 
in  the  narrative — BOAZ  REACHED  HER  THE  PARCHED 
CORN.  She  did  "  come  and  eat."  Where  did  she  sit  ? 
Note  well  that  she  "  sat  beside  the  reapers."  She  did 
not  feel  that  she  was  one  of  them.  Just  like  some  of 
you  who  do  not  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  but  sit  and 
look  on.  You  are  sitting  "  beside  the  reapers."  You 
fear  that  you  are  not  the  people  of  God  ;  still  you  love 
them,  and  therefore  sit  beside  them.  If  there  is  a  good 
thing  to  be  had,  and  you  cannot  get  it,  you  will  sit  as 


MEAL-TIME   IN    THE    CORNFIELDS.  253 

near  as  you  can  to  those  who  do  get  it.  "  She  sat  beside 
the  reapers." 

And  while  she  was  sitting  there,  what  happened  ? 
Did  she  stretch  forth  her  hand  and  take  the  food  herself  ? 
No,  it  is  written,  "  HE  reached  her  the  parched  corn." 
Ah  !  that  is  it.  None  but  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  can 
hand  out  the  choicest  refreshments  of  spiritual  minds. 
I  give  the  invitation  in  my  Master's  name,  and  I  hope 
I  give  it  earnestly,  affectionately,  sincerely  ;  but  I  know 
very  well  that  at  my  poor  bidding  none  will  come  till 
the  Spirit  draws.  No  trembling  heart  will  accept  divine 
refreshing  at  my  hand  ;  unless  the  King  himself  comes 
near,  and  reaches  the  parched  corn  to  each  chosen  guest, 
none  will  receive  it.  How  does  he  do  this  ?  By  his 
gracious  Spirit,  he  first  of  all  inspires  your  faith.  You 
are  afraid  to  think  that  it  can  be  true  that  such  a  sinner 
as  you  are  can  ever  be  "  accepted  in  the  Beloved  ";  he 
breathes  upon  you,  and  your  faint  hope  becomes  an  ex- 
pectancy, and  that  expectation  buds  and  blossoms  into 
an  appropriating  faith,  which  says,  "  Yes,  my  beloved 
is  mine,  and  his  desire  is  toward  me. " 

Having  done  this,  the  Saviour  does  more  ;  he  sheds 
abroad  the  love  of  God  in  your  heart.  The  love  of  Christ 
is  like  sweet  perfume  in  a  box.  Now,  he  who  put  the 
perfume  in  the  box  is  the  only  person  that  knows  how 
to  take  off  the  lid.  He,  with  his  own  skilful  hand, 
opens  the  secret  blessing,  and  sheds  abroad  the  love  of 
God  in  the  soul. 

But  Jesus  does  more  than  this  ;  he  reaches  the 
parched  corn  with  his  own  hand,  when  he  gives  us  close 
communion  with  himself.  Do  not  think  that  this  is  a 
dream  ;  I  tell  you  there  is  such  a  thing  as  speaking  with 
Christ  to  day.  As  certainly  as  I  can  talk  with  my 


254  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

dearest  friend,  or  find  solace  in  the  company  of  my  be- 
loved wife,  so  surely  may  I  speak  with  Jesus,  and  find 
intense  delight  in  the  company  of  Immanuel.  It  is  not 
a  fiction.  We  do  not  worship  a  far-off  Saviour  ;  he  is  a 
God  nigh  at  hand.  His  word  is  in  our  mouth  and  in 
our  heart,  and  we  do  to-day  walk  with  him  as  the  elect 
did  of  old,  and  commune  with  him  as  his  apostles  did 
on  earth  ;  not  after  the  flesh,  it  is  true,  but  after  a  real 
and  spiritual  fashion. 

Yet  once  more  let  me  add,  the  Lord  Jesus  is  pleased  to 
reach  the  parched  corn,  in  the  best  sense,  when  the  Spirit 
gives  us  the  infallible  witness  within,  that  we  are  ' '  born  of 
God."  A  man  may  know  that  he  is  a  Christian  beyond 
all  question.  Philip  de  Morny,  who  lived  in  the  time  of 
Prince  Henry  of  Navarre,  was  wont  to  say  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  had  made  his  own  salvation  to  him  as  clear  a  point 
as  a  problem  demonstrated  in  Euclid.  You  know  with 
what  mathematical  precision  the  scholar  of  geometry 
solves  a  problem  or  proves  a  proposition,  and  with 
as  absolute  a  precision,  as  certainly  as  twice  two  are 
four,  we  may  "  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death 
unto  life."  The  sun  in  the  heavens  is  not  more  clear  to 
the  eye  than  his  present  salvation  to  an  assured  believer  ; 
such  a  man  could  as  soon  doubt  his  own  existence  as 
suspect  his  possession  of  eternal  life. 

Now  let  the  prayer  be  breathed  by  poor  Ruth,  who 
is  trembling  yonder.  Lord,  reach  me  the  parched 
corn  !  "  Show  me  a  token  for  good."  "  Deal  bounti- 
fully with  thy  servant."  "  Draw  me,  we  will  run  after 
thee."  Lord,  send  thy  love  into  my  heart  ! 

"  Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  Dove, 
With  all  thy  quickening  powers, 
Come,  shed  abroad  a  Saviour's  love, 
And  that  shall  kindle  ours." 


MEAL-TIME    IN    THE    CORNFIELDS.  255 

There  is  no  getting  at  Christ  except  by  Christ  revealing 
himself  to  us. 

IV.  And  now  the  last  point.  After  Boaz  had  reach- 
ed the  parched  corn,  we  are  told  that  "  SHE  DID  EAT,  AND 
WAS  SUFFICED,  AND  LEFT."  So  shall  it  be  with  every 
Ruth.  Sooner  or  later  every  penitent  shall  become  a 
believer,  every  mourner  a  singer.  There  may  be  a  space 
of  deep  conviction,  and  a  period  of  much  hesitation  ; 
but  there  shall  come  a  season  when  the  soul  decides  for 
the  Lord,  and  cries,  "  If  I  perish,  I  perish.  I  will  go  as 
I  am  to  Jesus.  I  will  not  play  the  fool  any  longer  with 
my  buts  and  ifs,  but  since  he  bids  me  believe  that  he 
died  for  me,  I  will  believe  it,  and  will  trust  his  cross  for 
my  salvation."  Whenever  you  shall  be  privileged  to 
do  this,  you  shall  be  ' '  satisfied. "  "She  did  eat,  and 
was  sufficed."  Your  head  shall  be  satisfied  with  the  pre- 
cious truth  which  Christ  reveals  ;  your  heart  shall  be 
content  with  Jesus,  as  the  altogether  lovely  object  of 
affection  ;  jour 'hope  shall  be  filled,  for  whom  have  you 
in  heaven  but  Christ  ?  Your  desire  shall  be  satiated,  for 
what  can  even  your  desire  hunger  for  more  than  "  to 
know  Christ,  and  to  be  found  in  him."  You  shall  find 
Jesus  charm  your  conscience,  till  it  is  at  perfect  peace  ;  he 
shall  content  yo\vc  judgment,  till  you  know  the  certainty 
of  his  teachings  ;  he  shall  supply  your  memory  with  rec- 
ollections of  what  he  did,  and  gratify  your  imagination 
with  the  prospects  of  what  he  is  yet  to  do. 

"  She  was  sufficed,  and  left."  Some  of  us  have  had 
deep  draughts  of  love  ;  we  have  thought  that  we  could 
take  in  all  of  Christ,  but  when  we  have  done  our  best, 
we  have  had  to  leave  a  vast  remainder.  We  have  sat 
down  with  a  ravenous  appetite  at  the  table  of  the  Lord's 


256  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

love,  and  said,  ' '  Nothing  but  the  infinite  can  ever  satisfy 
me,"  and  that  infinite  has  been  granted  us.  I  have  felt 
that  I  am  such  a  great  sinner  that  nothing  short  of  an 
infinite  atonement  could  wash  my  sins  away,  and  no 
doubt  you  have  felt  the  same  ;  but  we  have  had  our  sin 
removed,  and  found  merit  enough  and  to  spare  in  Jesus  ; 
we  have  had  our  hunger  relieved,  and  found  a  redundance 
remaining  for  others  who  are  in  a  similar  case.  There 
are  certain  sweet  things  in  the  Word  of  God  which  you 
and  I  have  not  enjoyed  yet,  and  which  we  cannot  enjoy 
yet  ;  and  these  we  are  obliged  to  leave  for  a  while,  till 
we  are  better  prepared  to  receive  them.  Did  not  our 
Lord  say,  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you, 
but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now"  ?  There  is  a  special 
knowledge  to  which  we  have  not  attained,  a  place  of 
intimate  fellowship  with  Christ  which  we  have  not  yet 
occupied.  There  are  heights  of  communion  which  as 
yet  our  feet  have  not  climbed — virgin  snows  of  the 
mountain  of  God  untrodden  by  the  foot  of  man.  There 
is  yet  a  beyond,  and  there  will  be  for  ever. 

A  verse  or  two  further  on  we  are  told  what  Ruth  did 
with  her  leavings.  It  is  very  wrong,  I  believe,  at  feasts 
to  carry  anything  home  with  you  ;  but  she  was  not  under 
any  such  regulation,  for  that  which  was  left  she  took 
home  and  gave  to  Naomi.  So  it  shall  be  even  with  you, 
poor  tremblers,  who  think  you  have  no  right  to  a  morsel 
for  yourselves  ;  you  shall  be  allowed  to  eat,  and  when 
you  are  quite  sufficed,  you  shall  have  courage  to  bear 
away  a  portion  to  others  who  are  hungering  at  home. 
I  am  always  pleased  to  find  the  young  believer  begin- 
ning to  pocket  something  for  others.  When  you  hear 
a  sermon  you  think,  "  My  poor  mother  cannot  get 
out  to-day  ;  how  I  wish  she  could  have  been  here, 


MEAL-TIME   IN    THE   CORNFIELDS.  257 

for  that  sentence  would  have  comforted  her.  If  I 
forget  everything  else,  I  will  tell  her  that."  Cultivate 
an  unselfish  spirit.  Seek  to  love  as  you  have  been  loved. 
Remember  that  "  the  law  and  the  prophets  "  are  ful- 
filled in  this,  to  love  the  Lord  your  God  with  all  your 
heart,  and  your  neighbor  as  yourself.  How  can  you 
love  your  neighbor  as  yourself  if  you  do  not  love  his 
soul  ?  You  have  loved  your  own  soul  ;  through  grace 
you  have  been  led  to  lay  hold  on  Jesus  ;  love  your 
neighbor's  soul,  and  never  be  satisfied  till  you  see  him 
in  the  enjoyment  of  those  things  which  are  the  charm 
of  your  life  and  the  joy  of  our  spirit.  Take  home  your 
gleanings  for  those  you  love  who  cannot  glean  for  them- 
selves. 

I  do  not  know  how  to  give  you  an  invitation  to 
Christ  more  pleasantly,  but  I  would  with  my  whole 
heart  cry,  "  Come  and  welcome  to  Jesus."  I  pray  my 
Lord  and  Master  to  reach  a  handful  of  parched  corn  of 
comfort  to  you  if  you  are  a  trembling  sinner,  and  I  also 
beg  him  to  make  you  eat  till  you  are  fully  sufficed. 


THE    LOADED    WAGON. 

"  Behold,  I  am  pressed  under  you,  as  a  cart  is  pressed  that  is  full  of 
sheaves." — AMOS  2  : 13. 

WE  have  been  into  the  cornfields  to  glean  with  Boaz 
and  Ruth  ;  and  I  trust  that  the  timid  and  faint-hearted 
have  been  encouraged  to  partake  of  the  handfuls  which 
are  let  fall  on  purpose  for  them  by  the  order  of  our 
generous  Lord.  We  go  to-day  to  the  gate  of  the  har- 
vest-field with  another  object — to  see  the  wagon  piled  up 
aloft  with  many  sheaves  come  creaking  forth,  making 
ruts  along  the  field.  We  come  with  gratitude  to  God, 
thanking  him  for  the  harvest,  blessing  him  for  favorable 
weather,  and  praying  him  to  continue  the  same  till  the 
last  shock  of  corn  shall  be  brought  in,  and  the  husband- 
men everywhere  shall  shout  the  "  Harvest  Home." 

What  a  picture  is  a  wagon  loaded  with  corn  of  you 
and  of  me,  as  loaded  with  God's  mercies  !  From  our 
cradle  up  till  now,  every  day  has  added  a  sheaf  of  bless- 
ing. What  could  the  Lord  do  for  us  more  than  he  has 
done  ?  He  has  daily  loaded  us  with  benefits.  Let  us 
adore  his  goodness,  and  yield  him  our  cheerful  gratitude. 

Alas  !  that  such  a  sign  should  be  capable  of  another 
reading.  Alas  !  that  while  God  loadeth  us  with  mercy, 
we  should  load  him  with  sin.  While  he  continually 
heapeth  on  sheaf  after  sheaf  of  favor  we  also  add 
iniquity  unto  iniquity,  till  the  weight  of  our  sin  becomes 
intolerable  to  the  Most  High,  and  he  cries  out  by  reason 


THE    LOADED    WAGON.  259 

of  the  burden,  saying,  "  I  am   pressed  under  you,  as  a 
cart  is  pressed  that  is  full  of  sheaves." 

Our  text  begins  with  a  "Behold!"  and  well  it 
may.  "  Beholds"  are  put  in  the  Bible  as  signs  are 
hung  out  from  houses  of  business,  to  attract  attention. 
There  is  something  new,  important,  deeply  impressive, 
or  worthy  of  attention  wherever  we  see  a  "  Behold  " 
in  sacred  Scripture.  I  see  this  "  Behold  !"  standing,  as 
it  were,  like  a  maiden  upon  the  steps  of  the  house  of 
wisdom,  crying,  "  Turn  in  hither,  O  ye  that  are  wise- 
hearted,  and  listen  to  the  voice  of  God."  Let  us  open 
our  eyes  that  we  may  "  behold,"  and  may  the  Spirit 
make  a  way  through  our  eyes  and  ears  to  our  hearts, 
that  repentance  and  self -abhorrence  may  take  hold  upon 
us,  because  of  our  evil  conduct  towards  our  gracious  God. 

It  is  to  be  understood  before  we  proceed  farther, 
that  our  text  is  only  a  figure,  since  God  cannot  actually 
be  oppressed  by  man  ;  all  the  sin  that  man  may  commit 
can  never  disturb  the  serenity  of  the  divine  perfection, 
nor  cause  so  much  as  a  wave  upon  his  everlasting  calm. 
He  doth  but  speak  to  us  after  the  manner  of  man,  and 
bring  down  the  sublimities  and  mysteries  of  heaven  to 
the  feebleness  and  ignorance  of  earth.  He  speaketh  to 
us  as  a  great  father  may  talk  to  his  little  child.  Just 
as  a  cart  has  the  axles  bent,  and  as  the  wheels  creak  un- 
der the  excessive  load,  so  the  Lord  says  that  under  the 
load  of  human  guilt  he  is  pressed  down,  until  he  crieth 
out,  because  he  can  bear  no  longer  the  iniquity  of  those 
that  offend  against  him.  We  shall  now  turn  to  our 
first  point  ;  may  the  Holy  Ghost  make  it  pointed  to  our 
consciences  ! 

The  first  and  most  apparent  truth  in  the  text  is, 

that  SIN  IS  VERY  GRIEVOUS  AND  BURDENSOME  TO  GOD. 


260  TALKS   TO    FARMERS.  ' 

Be  astonished,  O  heavens,  and  be  amazed,  O  earth, 
that  God  should  speak  of  being  pressed  and  weighed 
down  !  I  do  not  read  anywhere  so  much  as  half  a  sug- 
gestion that  the  whole  burden  of  creation  is  any  weight 
to  the  Most  High.  "  He  taketh  up  the  isles  as  a  very 
little  thing."  Neither  sun,  nor  moon,  nor  stars,  nor 
all  the  ponderous  orbs  which  his  omnipotence  has  cre- 
ated, cost  him  any  labor  in  their  sustenance.  The 
heathen  picture  Atlas  as  stooping  beneath  the  globe  ; 
but  the  eternal  God,  who  beareth  up  the  pillars  of  the 
universe,  "  fainteth  not,  neither  is  weary."  Nor  do  I 
find  even  the  most  distant  approach  to  a  suggestion  that 
providence  fatigues  its  Lord.  .He  watches  both  by 
night  and  day  ;  his  power  goeth  forth  every  moment. 
'Tis  he  who  bringeth  forth'Mazzaroth  in  his  season  and 
guideth  Arcturus  with  his  sons.  He  beareth  up  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  !  and  holdeth  the  corner- 
stone thereof.  He  causeth  the  dayspring  to  know  its 
place,  and  setteth  a  bound  to  darkness  and  the  shadow 
of  death.  All  things  are  supported  by  the  power  of  his 
hand,  and  there  is  nothing  without  him.  Just  as  a 
moment's  foam  subsides  into  the  wave  that  bears  it  and 
is  lost  for  ever,  so  would  the  universe  depart  if  the 
eternal  God  did  not  daily  sustain  it.  This  incessant 
working  has  not  diminished  his  strength,  nor  is  there 
any  failing  or  thought  of  failing  with  him.  He  work- 
eth  all  things,  and  when  they  are  wrought  they  are 
as  nothing  in  his  sight.  But  strange,  most  passing 
strange,  miraculous  among  miracles,  sin  burdens  God, 
though  the  world  cannot  ;  and  iniquity  presses  the  Most 
High,  though  the  whole  weight  of  providence  is  as  the 
small  dust  of  the  balance.  Ah,  ye  careless  sons  of 
Adam,  ye  think  sin  a  trifle  ;  and  as  for  you,  ye  sons  of 


THE    LOADED    WAGON.  261 

Belial,  ye  count  it  sport,  and  say,  "  He  regardeth  not  ; 
he  seeth  not  ;  how  doth  God  know  ?  and  if  he  knoweth 
he  careth  not  for  our  sins."  Learn  ye  from  the  Book 
of  God,  that  so  far  from  this  being  the  truth,  your  sins 
are  a  grief  to  him,  a  burden  and  a  load  to  him,  till,  like 
a  cart  that  is  overloaded  with  sheaves,  so  is  he  weighed 
down  with  human  guilt. 

This  will  be  very  clear  if  we  meditate  for  a  moment 
upon  what  sin  is,  and  what  sin  does.  Sin  is  the  great 
spoiler  of  all  God's  works.  Sin  turned  an  archangel  into 
an  archfiend,  and  angels  of  light  into  spirits  of  evil. 
Sin  looked  on  Eden  and  withered  all  its  flowers.  Ere 
sin  had  come  the  Creator  said  of  the  new-made  earth, 
"  It  is  very  good  ' ' ;  but  when  sin  had  entered,  it  grieved 
God  at  his  very  heart  that  he  had  made  such  a  creature 
as  man.  Nothing  tarnishes  beauty  so  much  as  sin,  for 
it  mars  God's  image  and  erases  his  superscription. 

Moreover,  sin  makes  God's  creatures  unhappy,  and  shall 
not  the  Lord,  therefore,  abhor  it  ?  God  never  designed 
that  any  creature  of  his  hand  should  be  miserable.  He 
made  the  creatures  on  purpose  that  they  should  be  glad  ; 
he  gave  the  birds  their  song,  the  flowers  their  perfume, 
the  air  its  balm  ;  he  gave  to  day  the  smiling  sun  and  to 
night  its  coronet  of  stars  ;  for  he  intended  that  smiles 
should  be  his  perpetual  worship,  and  joy  the  incense  of 
his  praise.  But  sin  has  made  God's  favorite  creature  a 
wretch,  and  brought  down  God's  offspring,  made  in  his 
own  image,  to  become  naked,  and  poor,  and  miserable  ; 
and  therefore  God  hateth  sin,  and  is  pressed  down  un- 
der it,  because  it  maketh  the  objects  of  his  love  unhappy 
at  their  heart. 

Moreover,  remember  that  sin  attacks  God  in  all  his 
attributes,  assails  him  on  his  throne,  and  stabs  at  his  ex- 


262  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

istence.  What  is  sin  ?  Is  it  not  an  insult  to  God's 
wisdom  ?  O  sinner,  God  biddeth  thee  do  his  will  ;  when 
thou  doest  the  contrary  it  is  because  thou  dost  as  much 
as  say,  "  I  know  what  is  good  for  me,  and  God  does  not 
know."  You  do  in  effect  declare  that  infinite  wisdom 
is  in  error,  and  that  you,  the  creature  of  a  day,  are  the 
best  judge  of  happiness.  Sin  impugns  God's  goodness  ; 
for  by  sin  you  declare  that  God  has  denied  you  that 
which  would  make  you  happy,  and  this  is  not  the  part 
of  a  good,  tender,  and  loving  Father.  Sin  cuts  at  the 
Lord's  wisdom  with  one  hand,  and  at  his  goodness 
with  the  other. 

Sin  also  abuses  the  mercy  of  God.  When  you,  as 
many  of  you  have  done,  sin  with  the  higher  hand  be- 
cause of  his  long-suffering  toward  you  ;  when,  because 
you  have  no  sickness,  no  losses,  no  crosses,  therefore 
you  spend  your  time  in  revelry  and  obstinate  rebellion 
— what  is  this  but  taking  the  mercy  which  was  meant 
for  your  good  and  turning  it  into  mischief  ?  It  is  no 
small  grief  to  the  loving  father  to  see  his  substance 
spent  with  harlots  in  riotous  living  ;  he  cannot  endure 
it  that  his  child  should  be  so  degraded  as  to  turn  even 
the  mercy  which  would  woo  him  to  repentance  into  a 
reason  why  he  should  sin  the  more  against  him.  Be- 
sides, let  me  remind  the  careless  and  impenitent  that 
every  sin  is  a  defiance  of  divine  power.  In  effect  it  is 
lifting  your  puny  fists  against  the  majesty  of  heaven, 
and  defying  God  to  destroy  you.  Every  time  you  sin, 
you  defy  the  Lord  to  prove  whether  he  can  maintain  his 
law  or  no.  Is  this  a  slight  thing,  that  a  worm,  the 
creature  of  a  day,  should  defy  the  Lord  of  ages,  the  God 
that  filleth  and  upholdeth  all  things  by  the  word  of  his 
power  ?  Well  may  he  be  weary,  when  he  has  to  bear 


THE    LOADED    WAGON.  263 

with  such  provocations  and  insults  as  those  !  Mention 
what  attribute  you  will,  and  sin  has  blotted  it  ;  speak  of 
God  in  any  relationship  you  choose,  and  sin  has  cast  a 
slur  upon  him.  It  is  evil,  only  evil,  and  that  continu- 
ally ;  in  every  view  of  it  it  must  be  offensive  to  the  Most 
High.  Sinner,  dost  thou  know  that  ever)r  act  of  diso- 
bedience to  God's  law  is  virtually  an  act  of  high  treason  ? 
What  dost  thou  do  but  seek  to  be  God  thyself,  thine 
own  master,  thine  own  lord  ?  Every  time  thou  swerv- 
est  from  his  will,  it  is  to  put  thy  will  into  his  place  ;  it 
is  to  make  thyself  a  god,  and  to  undeify  the  Most 
High.  And  is  this  a  little  offence,  to  snatch  from  his 
brow  the  crown,  and  from  his  hand  the  sceptre  ?  I  tell 
thee  it  is  such  an  act  that  heaven  itself  could  not  stand 
unless  it  were  resented  ;  if  this  crime  were  suffered  to 
go  unpunished,  the  wheels  of  heaven's  commonwealth 
would  be  taken  from  their  axles,  and  the  whole  frame 
of  moral  government  would  be  unhinged.  Such  a  treason 
against  God  shall  certainly  be  visited  with  punishment. 
To  crown  all,  sin  is  an  onslaught  upon  God  himself  ,  for 
sin  is  atheism  of  heart.  Let  his  religious  profession  be 
what  it  may,  the  sinner  hath  said  in  his  heart,  "  No 
God."  He  wishes  that  there  were  no  law  and  no 
Supreme  Ruler.  Is  this  a  trifle  ?  To  be  a  Deicide  ! 
To  desire  to  put  God  out  of  his  own  world  !  Is  this  a 
thing  to  be  winked  at  ?  Can  the  Most  High  hear  it  and 
not  be  pressed  down  beneath  its  weight  ?  I  pray  you 
do  not  think  that  I  would  make  a  needless  outcry 
against  sin  and  disobedience.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of 
human  imagination  to  exaggerate  the  evil  of  sin,  nor 
will  it  ever  be  possible  for  mortal  lips,  though  they 
should  be  touched  like  those  of  Esaias  with  a  live  coal 
from  off  the  altar,  to  thunder  out  the  ten-thousandth 


264  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

part  of  the  enormity  of  the  least  sin  against  God. 
Think,  dear  friends  !  We  are  his  creatures,  and  yet  we 
will  not  do  his  will.  We  are  fed  by  him,  the  breath  in 
our  nostrils  he  gives  us,  and  yet  we  spend  that  breath  in 
murmuring  and  rebellion. 

Once  more,  we  are  always  in  the  sight  of  our  om- 
niscient God,  and  yet  the  presence  of  God  is  not  enough 
to  compel  us  to  obedience.  Surely  if  a  man  should  in- 
sult law  in  the  very  presence  of  the  lawgiver,  that  were 
not  to  be  borne-  with  ;  but  this  is  your  case  and  mine. 
We  must  confess,  "  Against  thee,  thee  only,  have  I 
sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight."  We  must  re- 
member also,  that  we  offend,  knowing  that  we  are 
offending.  We  do  not  sin  as  the  Hottentot,  or  the  can- 
nibal. We  in  England  sin  against  extraordinary  light 
and  sevenfold  knowledge  ;  and  is  this  a  light  thing  ? 
Can  you  expect  that  God  shall  pass  by  wilful  and  de- 
liberate offences  ?  Oh,  that  these  lips  had  language, 
that  this  heart  could  burn  for  once  !  for  if  I  could  de- 
clare the  horrible  infamy  of  sin  it  would  make  the  blood 
chill  in  even  a  haughty  Pharaoh's  veins,  and  proud 
Nebuchadnezzar  would  bow  his  head  in  fear.  It  is  in- 
deed a  terrible  thing  to  have  rebelled  against  the  Most 
High.  The  Lord  have  mercy  upon  his  servants  and 
forgive  them. 

This  is  our  first  point,  but  /  cannot  teach  you  it, 
God  himself  must  teach  it  by  his  Spirit.  Oh,  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  may  make  you  feel  that  sin  is  exceedingly 
sinful,  so  that  it  is  grievous  and  burdensome  to  God  ! 

Secondly,  SOME  SINS  ARE  MORE  ESPECIALLY  GRIEVOUS 
TO  GOD.  The  connection  of  our  text  will  help  you  to 
see  the  force  of  this  observation. 


THE    LOADED    WAGON.  265 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  little  sin,  but  still  there 
are  degrees  of  guilt,  and  it  were  folly  to  say  that  a  sin- 
ful thought  hath  in  it  the  same  extent  of  evil  as  a  sinful 
act.  A  filthy  imagination  is  sinfill — wholly  sinful  and 
greatly  sinful,  but  still  a  filthy  act  has  attained  a  higher 
degree  of  provocation.  There  are  sins  which  especially 
provoke  God.  In  the  connection  of  the  text  we  read 
that  licentiousness  does  this.  The  Jewish  people  in  the 
days  of  Amos  seem  to  have  gone  to  a  very  high  degree 
of  fornication  and  lechery.  This  sin  is  not  uncommon 
in  our  day  ;  let  our  midnight  streets  and  our  divorce 
courts  be  the  witness.  I  say  no  more.  Let  each  one 
keep  his  body  pure  ;  for  want  of  chastity  is  a  grievous 
evil  before  the  Lord. 

Oppression,  too,  according  to  the  prophet,  is  another 
great  provocation  to  God.  The  prophet  speaks  of  sell- 
ing the  poor  for  a  pair  of  shoes  ;  and  some  would  grind 
the  widow  and  the  orphan,  and  make  the  laborer  toil 
for  nought.  How  many  business  men  have  no  "  bowels 
of  compassion."  Men  form  themselves  into  societies, 
and  then  exact  an  outrageous  usury  upon  loans  from 
the  unhappy  beings  who  fall  into  their  hands.  Cun- 
ning legal  quibbles  and  crafty  evasions  of  just  debts 
often  amount  to  heavy  oppression,  and  are"  sure  to 
bring  down  the  anger  of  the  Most  High. 

Then,  again,  it  seems  that  idolatry  and  blasphemy  are 
highly  offensive  to  God,  and  have  a  high  degree  of 
heinousness.  He  says  that  the  people  drank  the  wine 
of  false  gods.  If  any  man  sets  up  his  belly,  or  his  gold, 
or  his  wealth  as  his  god,  and  if  he  lives  to  these  instead 
of  living  to  the  Most  High,  he  hath  offended  by  idol- 
atry. Woe  to  such,  and  equal  woe  to  those  who  adore 
crosses?  sacraments,  or  images. 


266  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

Specially  is  blasphemy  a  God-provoking  sin.  For 
blasphemy  there  is  no  excuse.  As  George  Herbert  says, 
"  Lust  and  wine  plead  a  pleasure  ;"  there  is  gain  to  be 
pleaded  for  avarice,  "but  the  cheap  swearer  from  his 
open  sluice  lets  his  soul  run  for  nought."  There  is 
nothing  gained  by  profane  talk  ;  there  can  be  no  pleas- 
ure in  cursing  ;  this  is  offending  for  offending's  sake, 
and  hence  it  is  a  high  and  crying  sin,  which  makes  the 
Lord  grow  weary  of  men.  There  may  be  some  among 
you  to  whom  these  words  may  be  personal  accusations. 
Do  I  address  the  lecherous,  or  the  oppressive,  or  the 
profane  ?  Ah,  soul,  what  a  mercy  God  hath  borne  with 
thee  so  long  ;  the  time  will  come,  however,  when  he 
will  say,  "  Ah,  I  will  ease  me  of  mine  adversaries,"  and 
how  easily  will  he  cast  you  off  and  appoint  you  an  awful 
destruction. 

Again,  while  some  sins  are  thus  grievous  to  God 
for  their  peculiar  heinousness,  many  men  are  especially 
obnoxious  to  God  because  of  the  length  of  their  sin. 
That  gray-headed  man,  how  many  times  has  he  pro- 
voked the  Most  High  !  Why,  those  who  are  but  lads  have 
cause  to  count  their  years  and  apply  their  hearts  unto 
wisdom  because  of  the  length  of  time  they  have  lived 
in  rebellion  ;  but  what  shall  I  say  of  you  who  have  been 
half  a  century  in  open  war  against  God — and  some  of 
you  sixty,  seventy,  what  if  I  said  near  upon  eighty 
years  ?  Ah,  you  have  had  eighty  years  of  mercies,  and 
returned  eighty  years  of  neglect  :  for  eighty  years  of 
patience  you  have  rendered  eighty  years  of  ingratitude. 
O  God,  well  mayest  thou  be  wearied  by  the  length  and 
number  of  man's  sins  ! 

Furthermore,  God  taketh  special  note  and  feeleth 
an  especial  weariness  of  sin  that  is  mixed  with  obstinacy. 


THE    LOADED    WAGON.  267 

/ 

Oh  how  obstinate  some  men  are  !  They  willbz  damned  ; 
there  is  no  helping  them  ;  they  seem  as  if  they  would 
leap  the  Alps  to  reach  perdition,  and  swim  through 
seas  of  fire  that  they  may  destroy  their  souls.  I 
might  tell  you  cases  .of  men  that  have  been  sore  sick  of 
fever,  ague,  and  cholera,  and  they  have  only  recovered 
their  health  to  return  to  their  sins.  Some  of  them  have 
had  troubles  in  business,  thick  and  threefold  :  they  were 
once  in  respectable  circumstances,  but  they  spent  their 
living  riotously,  and  they  became  poor  ;  yet  they  still 
struggle  on  in  sin.  They  are  growing  poorer  every  day, 
most  of  their  clothes  have  gone  to  the  pawnshop  ;  but 
they  will  not  turn  from  the  tavern  and  the  brothel. 
Another  child  is  dead  !  The  wife  is  sick,  and  starvation 
stares  the  family  in  the  face  ;  but  they  go  on  still  with 
a  high  hand  and  an  outstretched  arm.  This  is  ob- 
stinacy, indeed.  Sinner  !  God  will  let  thee  have  thine 
own  way  one  of  these  days,  and  that  way  will  be  thine 
everlasting  ruin.  God  is  weary  of  those  who  set  them- 
selves to  do  mischief,  and,  against  warnings,  and  invi- 
tations, and  entreaties,  are  determined  to  go  on  in  sin. 

The  context  seems  to  tell  us  that  ingratitude  is  in- 
tensely burdensome  to  God.  He  tells  the  people  how 
he  brought  them  out  of  Egypt  ;  how  he  cast  out  the 
Amorites  ;  how  he  raised  up  their  sons  for  prophets, 
and  their  young  men  for  Nazarites  ;  .and  yet  they  re- 
belled against  him  !  This  was  one  of  the  things  that 
pricked  my  heart  when  I  first  came  to  God  as  a  guilty 
sinner,  not  so  much  the  peculiar  heinousness  of  my  out- 
ward life,  as  the  peculiar  mercies  that  I  had  enjoyed. 
How  generous  God  has  been  to  some  of  us — some  of  us 
who  never  had  a  want  !  God  has  never  cast  us  into 
poverty,  nor  left  us  to  infamy,  nor  given  us  up  to  evil  ex- 


268  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

ample,  but  he  has  kept  us  moral,  and  made  us  love  his 
house  even  when  we  did  not  love  him,  and  all  this  he 
has  done  year  after  year  :  and  what  poor  returns  we 
have  made  !  To  us,  his  people,  what  joy  he  has  given, 
what  deliverances,  what  love,  what  comfort,  what  bliss 
— and  yet  we  have  sinned  to  his  face  !  Well  may  he  be 
as  a  cart  that  is  pressed  down,  that  is  full  of  sheaves. 

Let  me  observe,  before  I  leave  this  point,  that  it 
seems  from  our  text,  that  the  Lord  is  so  pressed,  that 
he  even  crieth  out.  Just  as  the  cart  when  laden  with  the 
sheaves,  groaneth  under  the  weight,  so  the  Lord  crieth 
out  under  the  load  of  sin.  Have  you  never  heard  those 
accents  ?  "  Hear,  O  heavens,  and  give  ear,  O  earth  : 
for  the  Lord  hath  spoken,  I  have  nourished  and  brought 
up  children,  and  they  have  rebelled  against  me  ! " 
Hear  again  :  "  Turn  ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways  ; 
for  why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  ?"  Better  still, 
hear  the  lament  from  the  lip  of  Jesus,  soft  and  gentle 
as  the  dew — "  O  Jerusalem.  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest 
the  prophets,  and  stonest  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee, 
how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  to- 
gether, even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under 
her  wings,  and  ye  would  not  !  "  Sinner,  God  is  cut  to 
the  heart  by  thy  sin  ;  thy  Creator  grieves  over  that 
which  thou  laughest  at  ;  thy  Saviour  crieth  out  in  his 
spirit  concerning  that  which  thou  thinkest  to  be  a  trifle — 
"O  do  not  this  abominable  thing  which  I  hate!" 
For  God's  sake  do  it  not  !  We  often  say  "  for  God's 
sake,"  without  knowing  what  we  mean  ;  but  here  see 
what  it  means,  for  the  sake  of  God,  that  ye  grieve  not 
your  Creator,  that  ye  cause  not  the  Eternal  One  himself 
to  cry  out  by  reason  of  weariness  of  you.  Cease  ye, 
cease  ye,  from  your  evil  ways  ;  for  why  will  ye  die,  O 


TiiE   LOADED    WAGON.  269 

house  of  Israel  ?     I  now  leave  those  two  points  to  pass 
on  very  briefly  to  the  next. 

While  it  is  true  that  sin  is  grievous  to  the  Lord,  it 
magnifies  his  mercy  when  we  see  that  HE  BEARS  THE 
LOAD.  As  the  cart  is  not  said  to  break,  but  is  pressed 
only,  so  is  he  pressed,  and  yet  he  bears.  If  you  and  I 
were  in  God's  place,  should  we  have  borne  it  ?  Nay, 
within  a  week  we  shoud  have  burned  the  universe  with 
fire,  or  trodden  it  to  powder  beneath  our  feet.  If  the 
Law  of  heaven  were  as  swift  to  punish  as  the  law  of 
man,  where  were  we  ?  How  easily  could  he  avenge  his 
honor  !  How  many  servants  wait  around  him  ready  to 
do  his  bidding  !  As  the  Roman  consul  went  out,  at- 
tended by  his  lictors  carrying  the  axe,  so  God  is  ever 
attended  by  his  executioners,  who  are  ready  to  fulfil  his 
sentence.  A  stone,  a  tile  from  a  roof,  a  thunderbolt,  a 
puff  of  wind,  a  grain  of  dust,  a  whiff  of  gas,  a  broken 
blood-vessel,  and  all  is  over,  and  you  are  dead,  and  in 
the  hands  of  an  angry  God.  Indeed,  the  Lord  has  to 
restrain  the  servants  of  his  anger,  for  the  heavens  cry, 
"  Why  should  we  cover  that  wretch's  head  ?"  Earth 
asks,  "  Why  should  I  yield  at  harvest  to  the  sinner's 
plough  ?"  The  lightnings  thunder,  and  say,  "  Let  us 
smite  the  rebel,"  and  the  seas  roar  upon  the  sinner,  de- 
siring him  as  their  prey.  There  is  no  greater  proof  of 
the  omnipotence  of  God  than  his  longsuffering  ;  for  it 
shows  the  greatest  possible  power  for  God  to  be  able  to 
control  himself.  Sinner,  yet  Jehovah  bears  with  thee. 
The  angels  have  been  astonished  at  it  ;  they  thought  he 
would  strike,  but  yet  he  bears  with  you.  Have  you 
ever  seen  a  patient  man  insulted  ?  He  has  been  met  in 
the  street  by  a  villain,  who  insults  him  before  a  mob  of 


270  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

boys.  He  bears  it.  The  fellow  spits  in  his  face.  He 
bears  it  still.  The  offender  strikes  him.  He  endures  it 
quietly.  "  Give  him  in  charge, "  says  one.  "  No,"  says 
he,  "  I  forgive  him  all."  The  fellow  knocks  him  down, 
and  rolls  him  in  the  kennel,  but  he  bears  it  still  ;  yes,  and 
when  he  rises  all  covered  with  mire,  he  says,  "  If  there 
be  anything  that  I  can  do  to  befriend  you,  I  will  do  it 
now."  Just  at  that  moment  the  wretch  is  arrested  by 
a  sheriff's  officer  for  debt  ;  the  man  who  has  been  in- 
sulted takes  out  his  purse  and  pays  the  debt,  and  says, 
"  You  may  go  free."  See,  the  wretch  spits  in  his  face 
after  that  !  "  Now,"  you  say,  "  let  the  law  have  its 
way  with  him."  Is  there  any  room  for  patience  now  ? 
So  would  it  have  been  with  man  ;  it  has  not  been  so 
with  God.  Though  like  the  cart  he  is  pressed  under 
the  load  of  sheaves,  yet  like  the  cart  the  axle  does  not 
break.  He  bears  the  load.  He  bears  with  impenitent 
sinners  still. 

And  this  brings  me  to  the  fourth  head,  on  which  I 
would  have  your  deepest  attention.  Some  of  you,  I  fear, 
have  never  seen  sin  in  the  light  of  grieving  God,  or  else 
you  would  not  wish  to  grieve  him  any  more.  On  the 
other  hand  some  of  you  feel  how  bitter  a  thing  evil  is, 
and  you  wish  to  be  rid  of  it.  This  is  our  fourth  head. 
Not  only  doth  God  still  bear  with  sin,  but  GOD,  IN  THE 

PERSON  OF  HIS  SON,  DID  BEAR  AND  TAKE  AWAY  SIN. 

These  words  would  have  deep  meaning  if  put  into 
the  lips  of  Jesus — "  I  am  pressed  under  you,  as  a  cart 
is  pressed  that  is  full  of  sheaves."  Here  stood  the  great 
problem.  God  must  punish  sin,  and  yet  he  desired  to 
have  mercy.  How  could  it  be  ?  Lo  !  Jesus  comes  to 
be  the  substitute  for  all  who  trust  him.  The  load  of 


THE    LOADED    WAGON.  271 

guilt  is  laid  upon  his  shoulders.  See  how  they  pile  on 
him  the  sheaves  of  human  sin  ! 

"  My  soul  looks  back  to  see 

The  burdens  thou  didst  bear, 
When  hanging  on  the  cursed  tree, 
And  hopes  her  guilt  was  there." 

"The  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all." 
There  they  lie,  sheaf  on  sheaf,  till  he  is  pressed  down 
like  the  wain  that  groaneth  as  it  moves  along.  "  He  is 
despised  and  rejected  of  men  ;  a  man  of  sorrows,  and 
acquainted  with  grief."  See  him,  he  did  "  sweat  as  it 
were  great  drops  of  blood  falling  to  the  ground." 
Herod  mocks  him.  Pilate  jeers  him.  They  have  smit- 
ten the  Prince  of  Judah  upon  the  cheek.  "  I  gave  my 
back  to  the  smiters,  and  my  cheeks  to  them  that  plucked 
off  the  hair  :  I  hid  not  my  face  from  shame  and  spit- 
ting." •  They  have  tied  him  to  the  pillar  ;  they  are  beat- 
ing him  with  rods,  not  this  time  forty  stripes  save  one,  for 
there  is  no  "  save  one  "  with  him.  "  The  chastisement 
of  our  peace  was  upon  him  ;  and  with  his  stripes  we  are 
healed."  See  him  ;  like  a  cart  pressed  down  with 
sheaves  traversing  the  streets  of  Jerusalem.  Well  may 
ye  weep,  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  though  he  bids  ye 
dry  your  tears  !  Abjects  hoot  at  him  as  he  walks  along 
bowed  beneath  the  load  of  his  own  cross,  which  was  the 
emblem  of  our  sin.  They  bring  him  to  Golgotha. 
They  throw  him  on  his  back,  they  stretch  out  his  hands 
and  his  feet.  The  accursed  iron  penetrates  the  ten- 
derest  part  of  his  body,  where  most  the  nerves  do  con- 
gregate. They  lift  up  the  cross.  O  bleeding  Saviour, 
thy  time  of  woe  is  come  !  They  dash  it  into  the  socket 
with  cruel  force,  the  nails  are  tearing  through  his  hands 


2J2  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

and  feet.  He  hangeth  in  extremity,  for  God  hath  for- 
saken him  ;  his  enemies  persecute  and  take  him,  for 
there  is  none  to  deliver  him.  They  mock  bis  nakedness  ; 
they  point  at  his  agonies.  They  look  and  stare  upon  him. 
With  ribald  jests  they  insult  his  griefs.  They  make  puns 
upon  his  prayers.  He  is  now  indeed  a  worm,  and  no 
man,  crushed  till  you  can  scarcely  think  that  divinity 
dwells  within  him.  Fever  parches  him  ;  his  tongue  is 
dried  up  like  a  potsherd,  and  he  cries,  "  I  thirst  !"  Vine- 
gar is  all  they  yield  him.  The  sun  refuses  to  shine,  and 
the  dense  midnight  of  that  awful  mid-day  is  a  fitting 
emblem  of  the  tenfold  darkness  of  his  soul.  Out  of 
that  all-encompassing  horror  he  crieth,  "  My  God,  my 
God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  Then,  indeed,  was 
he  pressed  down  !  There  was  never  sorrow  like  unto 
his  sorrow.  All  mortal  griefs  found  a  reservoir  in  his 
heart,  and  the  punishment  of  human  guilt  spent  itself 
upon  his  body  and  his  soul.  Shall  sin  ever  be  a.trifle  to 
me  ?  Shall  I  laugh  at  that  which  made  my  Saviour 
groan  ?  Shall  I  toy  and  dally  with  that  which  stabbed 
him  to  the  heart  ?  Sinner,  wilt  thou  not  give  up  thy 
sins  for  the  sake  of  him  who  suffered  for  sin  ?  "  Yes," 
sayest  thou,  "  yes,  if  I  could  believe  that  he  suffered  for 
my  sake."  Wilt  thou  trust  thy  soul  in  his  hands  at 
once?  Dost' thou  do  so?  Then  he  died  for  thee  and 
took  thy  guilt,  and  carried  all  thy  sorrows,  and  thou 
mayest  go  free,  for  God  is  satisfied,  and  thou  art  ab- 
solved. Christ  was  burdened  that  thou  mightest  be 
lightened;  he  was  pressed  that  thou  mightest  be  free. 
I  would  I  could  talk  of  my  precious  Master  as  John 
would  speak,  who  saw  him  and  bare  witness,  for  he 
could  tell  in  plaintive  tones  of  the  sorrows  of  Calvary. 
Such  as  I  have  I  give  you  ;  oh  that  God  would  give 


THE   LOADED   WAGON.  273 

you  with  it  the   power,  the  grace  to  believe  on  Jesus  at 
once. 

V.  For  if  not,  and  here  is  our  last  point,  God  will 
only  bear  the  load  of  our  provocation  for  a  little  while  ; 
and  if  we  are  not  in  Christ  when  the  end  shall  come, 

THAT  SAME  LOAD  WILL  CRUSH  US  FOREVER. 

My  text  is  translated  by  many  learned  men  in  a 
different  way  from  the  version  before  us.  According 
to  them  it  should  be  read,  "  I  will  press  you  as  a  cart 
that  is  full  of  sheaves  presseth  your  place. ' '  That  is,  just 
as  a  heavy  loaded  wagon  pressed  into  the  soft  eastern 
roads  and  left  deep  furrows,  so  will  I  crush  you,  saith 
God,  beneath  the  load  of  your  sin.  This  is  to  be  your 
doom,  my  hearer,  if  you  are  out  of  Christ  :  your  own 
deeds  are  to  press  upon  you.  Need  we  enlarge  upon 
this  terror  ?  I  think  not.  It  only  needs  that  you 
should  make  a  personal  application  of  the  threatening  ! 
Divide  yourselves  now.  Divide  yourselves,  I  say  ! 
Answer  each  one  for  himself — Dost  thou  believe  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  then  the  threatening  is  not  thine. 
But  if  thou  believest  not  I  conjure  thee  listen  to  me 
now  as  if  thou  wert  the  only  person  here.  A  Christless 
soul  will  ere  long  be  a  castaway  ;  he  that  believeth  not 
in  Christ  is  condemned  already,  because  he  believeth  not. 
How  wilt  thou  escape  if  thou  wilt  neglect  so  great  sal- 
vation ?  Thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  thee,  "  Consider 
thy  ways."  By  time,  by  eternity,  by  life,  by  death,  by 
heaven,  by  hell,  I  do  conjure  thee  believe  in  him  who 
is  able  to  save  unto  the  uttermost  them  that  come  unto 
him  ;  but  if  thou  believest  not  in  Christ  thou  shalt  die 
in  thy  sins. 

After  death  the  judgment  !       Oh  !  the   judgment, 


274  TALKS  TO  FARMERS. 

the  thundering  trumpet,  the  multitude,  the  books,  the 
great  white  throne,  the  "  Come,  ye  blessed,"  the  "  De- 
part, ye  cursed  !" 

After  judgment,  to  a  soul  that  is  out  of  Christ, 
Hell  !  Who  among  us  ?  who  among  us  shall  abide  with 
the  devouring  flame?  Who  among  us?  Who  among 
us  shall  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings  ?  I  pray  that 
none  of  us  may.  But  we  must  unless  we  fly  to  Christ. 
I  beseech  thee,  my  dear  hearer,  fly  to  Jesus  !  I  may 
never  see  thy  face  again  ;  thine  eyes  may  never  look 
into  mine  again  ;  but  I  shake  my  skirts  of  thy  blood 
if  thou  believest  not  in  Christ.  My  tears  entreat  thee  ; 
let  his  longsuffering  lead  thee  to  repentance.  He  will- 
eth  not  the  death  of  any,  but  that  they  should  turn  unto 
him  and  live  :  and  this  turning  lies  mainly  in  trusting 
Jesus  with  your  soul.  Wilt  thou  believe  in  Christ  ? 
Nay,  I  know  thou  wilt  not  unless  the  Spirit  of  God 
shall  constrain  thee  ;  but  if  thou  wilt  not,  it  shall  not 
be  for  want  of  pleading  and  entreating.  Come,  'tis 
mercy's  welcome  hour.  I  pray  thee,  come.  Jesus  with 
pierced  hands  invites  thee,  though  thou  hast  long  re- 
jected him.  He  knocks  again.  His  unconquerable 
love  defies  thy  wickedness.  He  begs  thee  to  be  saved. 
Sinner,  wilt  thou  have  him  or  no  ?  "  Whosoever  will, 
let  him  come  and  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely."  God 
help  you  to  come,  for  the  glorious  Redeemer's  sake. 
Amen. 


THRESHING. 

"  For  the  fitches  are  not  threshed  with  a  threshing  instrument,  neither  is  a 
cart  wheel  turned  about  upon  the  cummin  ;  but  the  fitches  are  beaten  out  vrith 
a  staff,  and  the  cummin  with  a  rod.  Bread  corn  is  bruised  ;  because  he  will 
not  ever  be  threshing  it,  nor  break  it  with  the  wheel  of  his  cart,  nor  bruise  it 
with  his  horsemen." — ISAIAH  28  : 27,  28. 

THE  art  of  husbandry  was  taught  to  man  by  God. 
He  would  have  starved  while  he  was  discovering  it,  and 
so  the  Lord,  when  he  sent  him  out  of  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  gave  him  a  measure  of  elementary  instruction  in 
agriculture,  even  as  the  prophet  puts  it — "  His  God 
doth  instruct  him  to  discretion,  and  doth  teach  him." 
God  has  taught  man  to  plough,  to  break  the  clods,  to 
sow  the  different  kinds  of  grain,  and  to  thresh  out  the 
different  sorts  of  seeds. 

The  Eastern  husbandman  could  not  thresh  by 
machinery  as  we  do  ;  but  still  he  was  ingenious  and 
discreet  in  that  operation.  Sometimes  a  heavy  instru- 
ment was  dragged  over  the  corn  to  tear  out  the  grain. 
This  is  what  is  intended  in  the  first  clause  by  the  "  thresh- 
ing instrument,"  as  also  in  that  passage,  "  I  have  made 
thee  a  sharp  threshing  instrument  having  teeth. "  When 
the  corn-drag  was  not  used,  they  often  turned  the  heavy 
solid  wheel  of  a  country  cart  over  the  straw.  This  is 
alluded  to  in  the  next  sentence  :  "  Neither  is  a  cart 
wheel  turned  about  upon  the  cummin."  They  had  also 
flails  not  very  unlike  our  own,  and  then  for  still  smaller 


276  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

seeds,  such  as  dill  and  cummin,  they  used  a  simple  staff, 
or  a  slender  switch.  "  The  fitches  are  beaten  out  with 
a  staff,  and  the  cummin  with  a  rod." 

This  is  not  the  time  or  place  to  give  a  dissertation 
upon  threshing.  We  find  every  information  upon  that 
subject  in  proper  books  ;  but  the  meaning  of  the  illus- 
tration is  this — that  as  God  has  taught  husbandmen  to 
distinguish  between  different  kinds  of  grain  in  the 
threshing,  so  does  he  in  his  infinite  wisdom  deal  dis- 
creetly with  different  sorts  of  men.  He  does  not  try  us 
all  alike,  seeing  we  are  differently  constituted.  He 
does  not  pass  us  all  through  the  same  agony  of  convic- 
tion :  we  are  not  all  to  the  same  extent  threshed  with 
terrors.  He  does  not  give  us  all  to  endure  the  same 
family  or  bodily  affliction  ;  one  escapes  with  only  being 
beaten  with  a  rod,  while  another  feels,  as  it  were,  the 
feet  of  horses  in  his  heavy  tribulations. 

Our  subject  is  just  this.  Threshing  :  all  kinds  of 
seeds  need  it,  all  sorts  of  men  need  it.  Secondly,  the 
threshing  is  done  with  discretion,  and,  thirdly,  the  threshing 
will  not  last  forever  ;  for  so  the  second  verse  of  the  text 
says  :  "  Bread  corn  is  bruised  ;  because  he  will  not  ever 
be  threshing  it,  nor  break  it  with  the  wheel  of  his  cart, 
nor  bruise  it  with  his  horseman." 

I.  First,  then,  WE  ALL  NEED  THRESHING.  Some  have 
a  foolish  conceit  of  themselves  that  they  have  no  sin  ; 
but  they  deceive  themselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in 
them.  The  best  of  men  are  men  at  the  best  ;  and 
being  men,  they  are  not  perfect,  but  are  still  compassed 
about  with  infirmity.  What  is  the  object  of  threshing 
the  grain  ?  Is  it  not  to  separate  it  from  the  straw  and 
the  chaff  ? 


THRESHING.  277 

About  the  best  of  men  there  is  still  a  measure  of  chaff.  All 
is  not  grain  that  lies  upon  the  threshing-floor.  All  is  not 
grain  even  in  those  golden  sheaves  which  have  been 
brought  into  our  garner  so  joyfully.  Even  the  wheat  is 
joined  to  the  straw,  which  was  necessary  to  it  at  one 
time.  About  the  kernel  of  the  wheat  the  husk  is  wrap- 
ped, and  this  still  clings  to  it  even  when  it  lies  upon  the 
threshing-floor  About  the  holiest  of  men  there  is 
something  superfluous,  something  which  must  be  re- 
moved. We  either  sin  by  omission  or  by  trespass. 
Either  in  spirit,  or  motive,  or  lack  of  zeal,  or  want  of 
discretion,  we  are  faulty.  If  we  escape  one  error,  we 
usually  glide  into  its  opposite.  If  before  an  action  we 
are  right,  we  err  in  the  doing  of  it,  or,  if  not,  we  become 
proud  after  it  is  over.  If  sin  be  shut  out  at  the  front 
door,  it  tries  the  back  gate,  or  climbs  in  .at  the  window, 
or  comes  down  the  chimney.  Those  who  cannot  per- 
ceive it  in  themselves  are  frequently  blinded  by  its 
smoke.  They  are  so  thoroughly  in  the  water  that  they 
do  not  know  that  it  rains.  So  far  as  my  own  observation 
goes  I  have  found  out  no  man  whom  the  old  divines 
would  have  called  perfectly  perfect  ;  the  absolutely  all- 
round  man  is  a  being  whom  I  expect  to  see  in  heaven, 
but  not  in  this  poor  fallen  world.  We  all  need  such 
cleansing  and  purging  as  the  threshing-floor  is  intended 
to  work  for  us. 

Now,  threshing  is  useful  in  loosening  the  connection 
between  the  good  corn  and  the  husk.  Of  course,  if  it  would 
slip  out  easily  from  its  husk,  the  corn  would  only  need 
to  be  shaken.  There  would  be  no  necessity  for  a  staff  or 
a  rod,  much  less  for  the  feet  of  horses,  or  the  wheel  of 
a  cart  to  separate  it.  But  there's  the  rub  :  our  soul  not 
only  lieth  in  the  dust,  but  "  cleaveth  "  to  it.  There  is 


278  TALKS    TO   FARMERS. 

a  fearful  intimacy  between  fallen  human  nature  and 
the  evil  which  is  in  the  world;  and  this  compact  is  not 
soon  broken.  In  our  hearts  we  hate  every  false  way, 
and  yet  we  sorrowfully  confess,  "  When  I  would  do 
good,  evil  is  present  with  me."  Sometimes  when  our 
spirit  cries  out  most  ardently  after  God,  a  holy  will  is 
present  with  us,  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is 
good  we  find  not.  Flesh  and  blood  have  tendencies  and 
weaknesses  which,  if  not  sinful  in  themselves,  yet  tend  in 
that  direction.  Appetites  need  but  slight  excitement  to 
germinate  into  lusts.  It  is  not  easy  for  us  to  forget  our 
own  kindred  and  our  father's  house  even  when  the 
king  doth  most  greatly  desire  our  beauty.  Our  alien 
nature  remembers  Egypt  and  the  flesh-pots  while  yet 
the  manna  is  in  our  mouths.  We  were  all  born  in  the 
house  of  evil,  and  some  of  us  were  nursed  upon  the  lap 
of  iniquity,  so  that  our  first  companionships  were  among 
the  heirs  of  wrath.  That  which  was  bred  in  the  bone 
is  hard  to  get  out  of  the  flesh.  Threshing  is  used  to 
loosen  our  hold  of  earthly  things  and  break  us  away 
from  evil.  This  needs  a  divine  hand,  and  nothing  but 
the  grace  of  God  can  make  the  threshing  effectual. 
Something  is  done  by  threshing  when  the  soul  ceases  to 
be  bound  up  with  its  sin,  and  sin  is  no  longer  pleasur- 
able or  satisfactory.  Still,  as  the  work  of  threshing  is 
never  done  till  the  corn  is  separated  altogether  from 
the  husk,  so  chastening  and  discipline  have  never  ac- 
complished their  design  till  God's  people  give  up  every 
form  of  evil,  and  abhor  all  iniquity.  When  we  shake 
right  out  of  the  straw,  and  have  nothing  further  to  do 
with  sin,  then  the  flail  will  lie  quiet.  It  has  taken  a 
good  deal  of  threshing  to  bring  some  of  us  anywhere  near 
that  mark,  and  I  am  afraid  many  more  heavy  blows  will 


THRESHING.  279 

be  struck  before  we  shall  reach  the  total  separation. 
From  a  certain  sort  of  sins  we  are  very  easily  separated 
by  the  grace  of  God  early  in  our  spiritual  life  ;  but  when 
those  are  gone,  another  layer  of  evils  comes  into  sight, 
and  the  work  has  to  berepated.  The  complete  removal 
of  our  connection  with  sin  is  a  work  demanding  the 
divine  skill  and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  by  him 
only  will  it  be  accomplished. 

Threshing  becomes  needful  for  the  sake  of  our  use- 
fulness ;  for  the  wheat  must  come  out  of  the  husk  to  be 
of  service.  We  can  only  honor  God  and  bless  men  by 
being  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  and  separate  from 
sinners  O  corn  of  the  Lord's  threshing-floor,  thou 
must  be  beaten  and  bruised,  or  perish  as  a  worthless 
heap  !  Eminent  usefulness  usually  necessitates  eminent 
affliction. 

Unless  thus  severed  from  sin,  we  cannot  be  gath- 
ered into  the  garner.  God's  pure  wheat  must  not  be  de- 
filed by  an  admixture  of  chaff.  There  shall  in  nowise 
enter  into  heaven  anything  that  defileth,  therefore  every 
sort  of  imperfection  must  come  away  from  us  by  some 
means  or  other  ere  we  can  enter  into  the  state  of  eternal 
blessedness  and  perfection.  Yea,  even  here  we  cannot 
have  true  fellowship  with  the  Father  unless  we  are 
daily  delivered  from  sin. 

Peradventure  some  of  us  to-day  are  lying  up  on  the 
threshing-floor,  suffering  from  the  blows  of  chastise- 
ment What  then  ?  Why,  let  us  rejoice  therein  ;  for 
this  testifies  to  our  value  in  the  sight  of  God.  If  the  wheat 
were  to  cry  out  and  say,  "  The  great  drag  has  gone  over 
me,  therefore  the  husbandman  has  no  care  for  me,"  we 
should  instantly  reply — The  husbandman  does  not  pass 
the  corn-drag  over  the  darnel  or  the  nettles  ;  it  is  only 


fc8o  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

over  the  precious  wheat  that  he  turns  the  wheel  of  his 
cart,  or  the  feet  of  his  oxen.  Because  he  esteems  the 
wheat,  therefore  he  deals  sternly  with  it  and  spares  it 
not.  Judge  not,  O  believer,  that  God  hates  you  because 
he  afflicts  you  ;  but  interpret  truly  and  see  that  he 
honors  you  by  every  stroke  which  he  lays  upon  you. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord,  "  You  only  have  I  known  of  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  therefore  I  will  punish  you 
for  all  your  iniquities."  Because  a  full  atonement  has 
been  made  by  the  Lord  Jesus  for  all  his  people's  sins, 
therefore  he  will  not  punish  us  as  a  judge  ;  but  because 
we  are  his  dear  children,  therefore  he  will  chastise  us 
as  a  father.  In  love  he  corrects  his  own  children  that 
he  may  perfect  them  in  his  own  image,  and  make  them 
partakers  of  his  holiness.  Is  it  not  written,  "  I  will 
bring  them  under  the  rod  of  the  covenant"  ?  Has  he 
not  said,  "I  have  refined  thee,  but  not  with  silver,  I 
have  chosen  thee  in  the  furnace  of  affliction"  ?  There- 
fore do  not  judge  according  to  the  sight  of  the  eyes  or 
the  feeling  of  the  flesh,  but  judge  according  to  faith,  and 
understand  that,  as  threshing  is  a  testimony  to  the  value 
of  the  wheat,  so  affliction  is  a  token  of  God's  delight  in 
his  people. 

Remember,  however,  that  as  threshing  is  a  sign  of 
the  impurity  of  the  wheat,  so  is  affliction  an  indication  of 
the  present  imperfection  of  the  Christian.  If  you  were  no 
more  connected  with  evil,  you  would  be  no  more  cor- 
rected with  sorrow.  The  sound  of  a  flail  is  never  heard 
in  heaven,  for  it  is  not  the  threshing-floor  of  the  im- 
perfect but  the  garner  of  the  completely  sanctified. 
The  threshing  instrument  is  therefore  a  humbling  token, 
and  so  long  as  we  feel  it  we  should  humble  ourselves 
under  the  hand  of  God,  for  it  is  clear  that  we  are  not 


THRESHING.  281 

yet    free    from    the    straw    and    the    chaff    of     fallen 
nature. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  instrument  is  a  prophecy  of 
0ur  future  perfection.  We  are  undergoing  from  the  hand 
of  God  a  discipline  which  will  not  fail  :  we  shall  by  his 
prudence  and  wisdom  be  clean  delivered  from  the 
husk  of  sin.  We  are  feeling  the  blows  of  the  staff,  but 
we  are  being  effectually  separated  from  the  evil  which 
has  so  long  surrounded  us,  and  for  certain  we  shall  one 
day  be  pure  and  perfect.  Every  tendency  to  sin  shall 
be  beaten  off.  "Foolishness  is  bound  in  the  heart 
of  a  child  ;  but  the  rod  of  correction  shall  drive  it 
far  from  him."  If,  we  being  evil,  yet  succeed  with 
our  children  by  our  poor,  imperfect  chastening,  how 
much  more  shall  the  Father  of  spirits  cause  us  to  live 
unto  himself  by  his  holy  discipline  ?  If  the  corn  could 
know  the  necessary  uses  of  the  flail,  it  would  invite  the 
thresher  to  his  work  ;  and  since  we  know  whereunto 
tribulation  tendeth,  let  us  glory  in  it,  and  yield  ourselves 
with  cheerfulness  to  its  processes.  We  need  threshing, 
the  threshing  proves  our  value  in  God's  sight,  and  while 
it  marks  our  imperfection,  it  secures  our  ultimate 
cleansing. 

II.  Secondly,  I  would  remark  that  GOD'S  THRESHING 
is  DONE  WITH  GREAT  DISCRETION;  "  for  the  fitches  are 
not  threshed  with  a  threshing  instrument. ' '  The  poor  lit- 
tle fitches,  a  kind  of  small  seed  used  for  flavoring  cakes, 
were  not  crushed  out  with  a  heavy  drag,  for  by  such 
rough  usage  they  would  have  been  broken  up  and  spoil- 
ed. "  Neither  is  a  cart  wheel  turned  about  upon  the 
cummin  ;"  this  little  seed,  perhaps  the  carraway,  would 
have  been  ground  by  so  great  a  weight  ;  it  would  have 


282  TALKS   TO   FARMERS. 

been  preposterous  to  treat  it  in  that  rough  manner. 
The  fitches  were  soon  removed  from  the  stalks  by  being 
"beaten  out  with  a  staff,"  and  the  cummin  needed 
nothing  but  a  touch  of  a  rod.  For  tender  seeds  the 
farmer  uses  gentle  means,  and  for  the  hardier  grains  he 
reserves  the  sterner  processes.  Let  us  think  of  this, 
as  it  conveys  a  valuable  spiritual  lesson. 

Reflect,  my  brother,  that  your  threshing  and  mine 
are  in  God's  hands.  Our  chastening  is  not  left  to  ser- 
vants, much  less  to  enemies  ;  "  we  are  chastened  of  the 
Lord  !"  The  Great  Husbandman  himself  personally 
bids  the  laborers  do  this  and  that,  for  they  know  not  the 
time  or  the  way  except  as  divine  wisdom  shall  direct  ; 
they  would  turn  the  wheel  upon  the  cummin,  or 
attempt  to  thresh  wheat  with  a  staff.  I  have  seen  God's 
servants  trying  both  these  follies  ;  they  have  crushed 
the  weak  and  tender,  and  they  have  dealt  with  partiality 
and  softness  with  those  who  needed  to  be  sternly  re- 
buked. How  roughly  some  ministers,  some  elders, 
some  good  men  and  women  will  go  to  work  with  timid, 
tender  souls  ;  yet  we  need  not  fear  that  they  will  de- 
stroy the  true-hearted,  for,  however  much  they  may  vex 
them  the  Lord  will  not  leave  his  chosen  in  their  hands, 
but  will  overrule  their  mistaken  severity,  and  preserve 
his  own  from  being  destroyed  thereby.  How  glad  I  am 
of  this  ;  for  there  are  many  nowadays  who  would  grind 
the  tender  ones  to  powder  if  they  could  ! 

As  the  Lord  has  not  left  us  in  the  power  of  man,  so 
also  he  has  not  left  us  in  the  power  of  the  devil.  Satan 
may  sift  us  as  wheat,  but  he  shall  not  thresh  us  as 
fitches.  He  may  blow  away  the  chaff  from  us  even 
with  his  foul  breath,  but  he  shall  not  have  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Lord's  corn  :  "  the  Lord  preserveth  the 


THRESHING.  283 

righteous."  Not  a  stroke  in  providence  is  left  to 
chance  ;  the  Lord  ordains  it,  and  arranges  the  time,  the 
force,  and  the  place  of  it.  The  divine  decree  leaves 
nothing  uncertain  ;  the  jurisdiction  of  supreme  love 
occupies  itself  with  the  smallest  events  of  our  daily 
lives.  Whether  we  bear  the  teeth  of  the  corn-drag  or 
men  do  ride  over  our  heads,  or  we  endure  the  gentler 
touches  of  the  divine  hand,  everything  is  by  appoint- 
ment, and  the  appointment  is  fixed  by  infallible  wis- 
dom. Let  this  be  a  mine  of  comfort  to  the  afflicted. 

Next,  remark  that  the  instruments  used  for  our  thresh- 
ing are  chosen  also  by  the  Great  Husbandman.  The  Eastern 
farmer,  according  to  the  text,  has  several  instruments, 
and  so  has  our  God.  No  form  of  threshing  is  pleasant 
to  the  seed  which  bears  it  ;  indeed,  each  one  seems  to 
the  sufferer  to  be  peculiarly  objectionable.  We  say, 
"  I  think  I  could  bear  anything  but  this  sad  trouble." 
We  cry,  "  It  was  not  an  enemy,  then  I  could  have 
borne  it,"  and  so  on.  Perhaps  the  tender  cummin  fool- 
ishly fancies  that  the  horse-hoofs  would  be  a  less  terri- 
ble ordeal  than  the  rod,  and  the  fitches  might  even  pre- 
fer the  wheel  to  the  staff  ;  but  happily  the  matter  is  left 
to  the  choice  of  One  who  judges  unerringly.  What 
dost  thou  know  about  it,  poor  sufferer  ?  How  canst  thou 
judge  of  what  is  good  for  thee  ?  "  Ah  !"  cries  a  mother, 
"  I  would  not  mind  poverty  ;  but  to  lose  my  darling 
child  is  too  terrible  !"  Another  laments,  "  I  could  have 
parted  with  all  my  wealth,  but  to  be  slandered  cuts  me 
to  the  quick."  There  is  no  pleasing  us  in  the  matter 
of  chastisement.  When  I  was  at  school,  with  my 
uncle  for  master,  it  often  happened  that  he  would  send 
me  out  to  find  a  cane  for  him.  It  was  not  a  very  pleas- 
ant task,  and  I  noticed  that  I  never  once  succeeded  in 


284  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

selecting  a  stick  which  was  liked  by  the  boy  who  had  to 
feel  it.  Either  it  was  too  thin,  or  too  stout  ;  and  in 
consequence  I  was  threatened  by  the  sufferers  with 
condign  punishment  if  I  did  not  do  better  next  time.  I 
learned  from  that  experience  never  to  expect  God's 
children  to  like  the  particular  rod  with  which  they  are 
chastened.  You  smile  at.  my  simile,  but  you  may  smile 
at  yourself  when  you  find  yourself  crying,  "  Any  trouble 
but  this,  Lord.  Any  affliction  but  this."  How  idle  it 
is  to  expect  a  pleasant  trial  ;  for  it  would  then  be  no 
trial  at  all.  Almost  every  really  useful  medicine  is  un- 
pleasant :  almost  all  effectual  surgery  is  painful  !  no 
trial  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but  grievous, 
yet  it  is  the  right  trial,  and  none  the  less  right  because 
it  is  bitter. 

Notice,  too,  that  God  not  only  selects  the  instru- 
ments, but  but  he  chooses  the  place.  Farmers  in  the  East 
have  large  threshing-floors  upon  which  they  throw  the 
sheaves  of  corn  or  barley,  and  upon  these  they  turn 
horses  and  drags  ;  but  near  the  house  door  I  have  often 
noticed  in  Italy  a  much  smaller  circle  of  hardened  clay  or 
cement,  and  here  I  have  seen  the  peasants  beating  out 
their  garden  seeds  in  a  more  careful  manner  than  would 
naturally  be  used  toward  the  greater  heaps  upon  the 
larger  area.  Some  saints  are  not  afflicted  in  the  com- 
mon affairs  of  life,  but  they  have  peculiar  sorrow  in 
their  innermost  spirits  ;  they  are  beaten  on  the  smaller 
and  more  private  threshing-floor  ;  but  the  process  is 
none  the  less  effectual.  How  foolish  are  we  when  we 
rebel  against  our  Lord's  appointment,  and  speak  as 
if  we  had  a  right  to  choose  our  own  afflictions  ! 
"  Should  it  be  according  to  thy  mind  ?"  Should 
a  child  select  the  rod  ?  Should  the  grain  appoint  its 


THRESHING.  285 

own  thresher  ?  Are  not  these  things  to  be  left  to  a 
higher  wisdom  ?  Some  complain  of  the  time  of  their 
trial  ;  it  is  hard  to  be  crippled  in  youth,  or  to  be  poor 
in  age,  or  to  be  widowed  when  your  children  are  young. 
Yet  in  all  this  there  is  wisdom.  A  part  of  the  skill  of 
the  physician  may  lie,  not  only  in  writing  a  prescription, 
but  in  arranging  the  hours  at  which  the  medicine  shall 
be  taken.  One  draught  may  be  most  useful  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  another  may  be  more  beneficial  in  the  evening  ; 
and  so  the  Lord  knows  when  it  is  best  for  us  to  drink 
of  the  cup  which  he  has  prepared  for  us.  I  know  a 
dear  child  of  God  who  is  enduring  a  severe  trial  in  his 
old  age,  and  I  would  fain  screen  him  from  it  because 
of  his  feebleness,  but  our  heavenly  Father  knows  best, 
and  there  we  must  leave  it.  The  instrument  of  the 
threshing,  the  place,  the  measure,  the  time,  the  end, 
are  all  appointed  by  infallible  love. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  in  the  text  the  limit  of 
this  threshing.  The  husbandman  is  zealous  to  beat  out 
the  seed,  but  he  is  careful  not  to  break  it  in  pieces  by 
too  severe  a  process.  His  wheel  is  not  to  grind,  but  to 
thresh  ;  the  horses'  feet  are  not  to  break,  but  to  sepa- 
rate. He  intends  to  get  the  cummin  out  of  its  husk,  but 
he  will  not  turn  a  heavy  drag  upon  it  utterly  to  smash 
it  up  and  destroy  it.  In  the  same  way  the  Lord  has  a 
measure  in  all  his  chastening.  Courage,  tried  friend, 
you  shall  be  afflicted  as  you  need,  but  not  as  you  de- 
serve ;  tribulation  shall  come  as  you  are  able  to  bear  it. 
As  is  the  strength  such  shall  the  affliction  be  ;  the 
wheat  may  feel  the  wheel,  but  the  fitches  shall  bear 
nothing  heavier  than  a  staff.  No  saint  shall  be  tempt- 
ed beyond  the  proper  measure,  and  the  limit  is  fixed  by 
a  tenderness  which  never  deals  a  needless  stroke. 


286  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

It  is  very  easy  to  talk  like  this  in  cool  blood,  and 
quite  another  thing  to  remember  it  when  the  flail  is 
hammering  you  ;  yet  have  I  personally  realized  this 
truth  upon  the  bed  of  pain,  and  in  the  furnace  of 
mental  distress.  I  thank  God  at  every  remembrance 
of  my  afflictions  ;  I  did  not  doubt  his  wisdom  then,  nor 
have  I  had  any  reason  to  question  it  since.  Our  Great 
Husbandman  understands  how  to  divide  us  from  the 
husk,  and  he  goes  about  his  work  in  a  way  for  which  he 
deserves  to  be  adored  for  ever. 

It  is  a  pleasant  thought  that  God's  limit  is  one  be- 
yond which  trials  never  go — 

"  If  trials  six  be  fix'd  for  men 

They  shall  not  suffer  seven. 

If  God  appoint  afflictions  ten 

They  ne'er  can  be  eleven." 

The  old  law  ordained  forty  stripes  save  one,  and  in 
all  our  scourgings  there  always  comes  in  that  "  save 
one."  When  the  Lord  multiplies  our  sorrows  up  to  a 
hundred,  it  is  because  ninety-and-nine  failed  to  effect 
his  purpose  ;  but  all  the  powers  of  earth  and  hell  can- 
not give  us  one  blow  above  the  settled  number.  We 
shall  never  endure  a  superfluity  of  threshing.  The 
Lord  never  sports  with  the  feelings  of  his  saints.  "  He 
does  not  afflict  willingly,"  and  so  we  may  be  sure  he 
never  gives  an  unnecessary  blow. 

The  wisdom  of  the  husbandman  in  limiting  his 
threshing  is  far  exceeded  in  the  wisdom  of  God  by  which 
he  sets  a  limit  to  our  griefs.  Some  escape  with  little 
trouble,  and  perhaps  it  is  because  they  are  frail  and 
sensitive.  The  little  garden  seeds  must  not  be  beaten 
too  heavily  lest  they  be  injured  ;  those  saints  who  bear 


THRESHING.  287 

about  with  them  a  delicate  body  must  not  be  roughly 
handled,  nor  shall  they  be.  Possibly  they  have  a  feeble 
mind  also,  and  that  which  others  would  laugh  at  would 
be  death  to  them  ;  they  shall  be  kept  as  the  apple  of 
the  eye. 

If  you  are  free  from  tribulation  never  ask  for  it  ; 
that  would  be  a  great  folly.  I  did  meet  with  a  brother 
a  little  while  ago  who  said  that  he  was  much  perplexed 
because  he  had  no  trouble.  I  said,  "  Do  not  worry 
about  that ;  but  be  happy  while  you  may."  Only  a 
queer  child  would  beg  to  be  flogged.  Certain  sweet 
and  shining  saints  are  of  such  a  gentle  spirit  that  the 
Lord  does  not  expose  them  to  the  same  treatment  as  he 
metes  out  to  others  ;  they  do  not  need  it,  and  they 
could  not  bear  it  ;  why  should  they  wish  for  it  ? 

Others,  again,  are  very  heavily  pressed  ;  but  what 
of  that  if  they  are  a  superior  grain,  a  seed  of  larger  use- 
fulness, intended  for  higher  purposes  ?  Let  not  such  re- 
gret that  they  have  to  endure  a  heavier  threshing  since 
their  use  is  greater.  It  is  the  bread  corn  that  must  go 
under  the  feet  of  the  horseman  and  must  feel  the  wheel 
of  the  cart  ;  and  so  the  most  useful  have  to  pass 
through  the  sternest  processes.  There  is  not  one 
among  us  but  what  would  say,  "  I  could  wish  that  I 
were  Martin  Luther,  or  that  I  could  play  as  noble  a  part 
as  he  did."  Yes  ;  but  in  addition  to  the  outward  perils 
of  his  life,  the  inward  experiences  of  that  remarkable 
man  were  such  as  none  of  us  would  wish  to  feel.  He 
was  frequently  tormented  with  Satanic  temptations,  and 
driven  to  the  verge  of  despair.  At  one  hour  he  rode 
the  whirlwind  and  the  storm,  master  of  all  the  world, 
and  then  after  days  of  fighting  with  the  pope  and  the 
devil  he  would  go  home  to  his  bed  and  lie  there  broken- 


288  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

down  and  trembling.  You  see  God's  heroes  only  in 
the  pulpit,  or  in  other  public  places,  you  know  not  what 
they  are  before  God  in  secret.  You  do  not  know  their 
inner  life  ;  else  you  might  discover  that  the  bread  corn 
is  bruised,  and  that  those  who  are  most  useful  in  com- 
forting others  have  to  endure  frequent  sorrow  them- 
selves. Envy  no  man  ;  for  you  do  not  know  how  he 
may  have  to  be  threshed  to  make  him  right  and  keep 
him  so. 

Brethren,  we  see  that  our  God  uses  discretion  in 
the  chastisement  of  his  people  ;  let  us  use  a  loving 
prudence  when  we  have  to  deal  with  others  in  that  way. 
Be  gentle  as  well  as  firm  with  your  children  ;  and  if 
yoU  have  to  rebuke  your  brother  do  it  very  tenderly. 
Do  not  drive  your  horses  over  the  tender  seed.  Recol- 
lect that  the  cummin  is  beaten  out  with  a  staff  and  not 
crushed  out  with  a  wheel.  Take  a  very  light  rod. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  as  well  if  you  had  no  rod  at  all, 
but  left  that  work  to  wiser  hands.  Go  you  and  sow  and 
leave  your  elders  to  thresh. 

Next  let  us  firmly  believe  in  God's  discretion,  and 
be  sure  that  he  is  doing  the  right  thing  by  us.  Let  us 
not  be  anxious  to  be  screened  from  affliction.  When 
we  ask  that  the  cup  may  pass  from  us  let  it  be  with  a 
"  nevertheless  not  as  I  will."  Best  of  all,  let  us  freely 
part  with  our  chaff.  The  likeliest  way  to  escape  the 
flail  is  to  separate  from  the  husk  as  quickly  as  possible. 
"Come  ye  out  from  among  them."  Separate  your- 
selves from  sin  and  sinners,  from  the  world  and  world- 
liness,  and  the  process  of  threshing  will  all  the  sooner 
be  completed.  God  make  us  wise  in  this  matter  ! 

III.  A  word  or  two  is  all  we  can  afford  upon  the 


THRESHING.  289 

third  head,  which  is  that  THE  THRESHING  WILL  NOT  LAST 

FOREVER. 

The  threshing  will  not  last  all  our  days  even  here  : 
"  Bread  corn  is  bruised,  but  he  will  not  always  be 
threshing  it."  Oh,  no.  "  For  a  small  moment  have  I 
forsaken  thee,  but  with  great  mercies  will  I  gather 
thee."  "  He  will  not  always  chide,  neither  will  he  keep 
his  anger  for  ever."  "  Weeping  may  endure  for  a 
night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning."  Rejoice,  ye 
daughters  of  sorrow  !  Be  comforted,  ye  sons  of  grief  ! 
Have  hope  in  God,  for  you  shall  yet  praise  him  who  is 
the  health  of  your  countenance.  The  rain  does  not 
always  fall,  nor  will  the  clouds  always  return.  Sorrow 
and  sighing  shall  flee  away.  Threshing  is  not  an  opera- 
tion which  the  corn  requires  all  the  year  round  ;  for  the 
most  part  the  flail  is  idle.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul  ! 
The  Lord  will  yet  bring  home  his  banished  ones. 

Above  all,  tribulation  will  not  last  forever,  for  we 
shall  soon  be  gone  to  another  and  better  world.  We 
shall  soon  be  carried  to  the  land  where  there  are  neither 
threshing-floors  nor  corn-drags.  I  sometimes  think  I 
hear  the  herald  calling  me.  His  trumpet  sounds  :  "  Up 
and  away  !  Boot  and  saddle  !  Up  and  away  !  Leave 
the  camp  and  the  battle,  and  return  in  triumph."  The 
night  is  far  spent  with  you,  but  the  morning  cometh. 
The  daylight  breaks  above  yon  hills.  The  day  is  com- 
ing— the  day  that  shall  go  no  more  down  forever. 
Come,  eat  your  bread  with  joy,  and  march  onward  with 
a  merry  heart  ;  for  the  land  which  floweth  with  milk 
and  honey  is  but  a  little  way  before  you.  Until  the  day 
break  and  the  shadows  flee  away,  abide  the  Great 
Husbandman's  will,  and  may  the  Lord  glorify  himself 
in  you.  Amen. 


WHEAT   IN    THE    BARN. 
"  Gather  the  wheat  into  my  barn." — MATTHEW  13  : 30. 

"  GATHER  the  wheat  into  my  barn."  Then  the  pur- 
pose of  the  Son  of  man  will  be  accomplished.  He  sowed 
good  seed,  and  he  shall  have  his  barn  filled  with  it  at 
the  last.  Be  not  dispirited,  Christ  will  not  be  disap- 
pointed. "  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and 
shall  be  satisfied."  He  went  forth  weeping^  bearing 
precious  seed,  but  he  shall  come  again  rejoicing,  bring- 
ing his  sheaves  with  him. 

"  Gather  the  wheat  into  my  barn  ;"  then  Satan's 
policy  will  be  unsuccessful.  The  enemy  came  and 
sowed  tares  among  the  wheat,  hopeful  that  the  false 
wheat  would  destroy  or  materially  injure  the  true  ;  but 
he  failed  in  the  end,  for  the  wheat  ripened  and  was 
ready  to  be  gathered.  Christ's  garner  shall  be  filled  ; 
the  tares  shall  not  choke  the  wheat.  The  evil  one  will 
be  put  to  shame. 

In  gathering  in  the  wheat,  good  angels  will  be  em- 
ployed :  "  the  angels  are  the  reapers."  This  casts 
special  scorn  upon  the  great  evil  angel.  He  sows  the 
tares,  and  tries  to  destroy  the  harvest  ;  and  therefore 
the  good  angels  are  brought  in  to  celebrate  his  defeat, 
and  to  rejoice  together  with  their  Lord  in  the  success  of 
the  divine  husbandry.  Satan  will  make  a  poor  profit 
out  of  his  meddling  ;  he  shall  be  baulked  in  all  his 


WHEAT    IN    THE    BARN.  '    291 

efforts,  and  so  the  threat  shall  be  fulfilled,  "  Upon  thy 
belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou  eat." 

By  giving  the  angels  work  to  do,  all  intelligent 
creatures,  of  whose  existence  we  have  information,  are 
made  to  take  an  interest  in  the  work  of  grace  ;  whether 
for  malice  or  for  adoration,  redemption  excites  them 
all.  To  all,  the  wonderful  works  of  God  are  made 
manifest  ;  for  these  things  were  not  done  in  a  corner. 

We  too  much  forget  the  angels.  Let  us  not  overlook 
their  tender  sympathy  with  us  ;  they  behold  the  Lord  re- 
joicing over  our  repentance,  and  they  rejoice  with  him  ; 
they  are  our  watchers  and  the  Lord's  messengers  of 
mercy  ;  they  bear  us  up  in  their  hands  lest  we  dash  our 
foot  against  a  stone  ;  and  when  we  come  to  die,  they 
carry  us  to  the  bosom  of  our  Lord.  It  is  one  of  our  jo5rs 
that  we  have  come  to  an  innumerable  company  of 
angels  ;  let  us  think  of  them  with  affection. 

At  this  time  I  will  keep  to  my  text,  and  preach  from 
it  almost  word  by  word.  It  begins  with  "but,"  and 

that  is  A  WORD  OF  SEPARATION. 

Here  note  that  the  tares  and  the  wheat  will  grow 
together  until  the  time  of  harvest  shall  come.  It  is  a 
great  sorrow  of  heart  to  some  of  the  wheat  to  be  grow- 
ing side  by  side  with  tares.  The  ungodly  are  as  thorns 
and  briers  to  those  who  fear  the  Lord.  How  frequently 
is  the  sigh  forced  forth  from  the  godly  heart  :  "  Woe 
is  me,  that  I  sojourn  in  Mesech,  that  I  dwell  in  the  tents 
of  Kedar  !"  A  man's  foes  are  often  found  within  his 
own  household  ;  those  who  should  have  been  his  best 
helpers  are  of  ten  his  worst  hinderers  ;  their  conversation 
vexes  and  torments  him.  It  is  of  little  use  to  try  to 
escape  from  them,  for  the  tares  are  permitted  in  God's 
providence  to  grow  with  the  wheat,  and  they  will  do  so 


2Q2  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

until  the  end.  Good  men  have  emigrated  to  distant 
lands  to  found  communities  in  which  there  should  be 
none  but  saints,  and,  alas  !  sinners  have  sprung  up  in 
their  own  families.  The  attempt  to  weed  the  ungodly 
and  heretical  out  of  the  settlement  has  led  to  persecution 
and  other  evils,  and  the  whole  plan  has  proved  a  fail- 
ure. Others  have  shut  themselves  away  in  hermitages 
to  avoid  the  temptations  of  the  world,  and  so  have 
hoped  to  win  the  victory  by  running  away  ;  this  is  not 
the  way  of  wisdom.  The  word  for  this  present  is, 
"  Let  both  grow  together  ;"  but  there  will  come  a  time 
when  a  final  separation  will  be  made.  Then,  dear 
Christian  woman,  your  husband  will  never  persecute 
you  again.  Godly  sister,  your  brother  will  heap  no 
more  ridicule  upon  you.  Pious  workman,  there  will  be 
no  more  jesting  and  taunting  from  the  ungodly.  That 
"but"  will  be  an  iron  gate  between  the  god-fearing 
and  the  godless  ;  then  will  the  tares  be  cast  into  the 
fire,  but  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  will  say,  "  Gather  the 
wheat  into  my  barn." 

This  separation  must  be  made  ;  for  the  growing  of 
the  wheat  and  the  tares  together  on  earth  has  caused 
much  pain  and  injury,  and  therefore  it  will  not  be  con- 
tinued in  a  happier  world.  We  can  very  well  suppose 
that  godly  men  and  women  might  be  willing  that  their 
unconverted  children  should  dwell  with  them  in  heaven  ; 
but  it  cannot  be,  for  God  will  not  have  his  cleansed 
ones  defiled  nor  his  glorified  ones  tried  by  the  presence 
of  the  unbelieving.  The  tares  must  be  taken  away  in 
order  to  the  perfectness  and  usefulness  of  the  wheat. 
Would  you  have  the  tares  and  the  wheat  heaped  up  to- 
gether in  the  granary  in  one  mass  ?  That  would  be  ill 
husbandry  with  a  vengeance.  They  can  neither  of 


WHEAT    IN    THE    BARN.  293 

them  be  put  to  appropriate  use  till  thoroughly  separated. 
Even  so,  mark  you,  the  saved  and  the  unsaved  may  live 
together  here,  but  they  must  not  live  together  in  another 
world.  The  command  is  absolute  :  "  Gather  the  tares, 
and  bind  them  in  bundles  to  burn  them  :  but  gather  the 
wheat  into  my  barn."  Sinner,  can  you  hope  to  enter 
heaven  ?  You  never  loved  your  mother's  God,  and  is 
he  to  endure  you  in  his  heavenly  courts  ?  You  never 
trusted  your  father's  Saviour,  and  yet  are  you  to  behold 
his  glory  for  ever  ?  Are  you  to  go  swaggering  down 
the  streets  of  heaven,  letting  fall  an  oath,  or  singing  a 
loose  song  ?  Why,  you  know,  you  get  tired  of  the 
worship  of  God  on  the  Lord's  day  ;  do  you  think  that 
the  Lord  will  endure  unwilling  worshippers  in  the  tem- 
ple above  ?  The  Sabbath  is  a  wearisome  day  to  you  ; 
how  can  you  hope  to  enter  into  the  Sabbath  of  God  ? 
You  have  no  taste  for  heavenly  pursuits,  and  these 
things  would  be  profaned  if  you  were  permitted  to  par- 
take in  them  ;  therefore  that  word  "  but"  must  come 
in,  and  you  must  part  from  the  Lord's  people  never  to 
meet  again.  Can  you  bear  to  think  of  being  divided 
from  godly  friends  for  ever  and  ever  ? 

That  separation  involves  an  awful  difference  of  des- 
tiny. "  Gather  the  tares  in  bundles  to  burn  them."  I 
do  not  dare  to  draw  the  picture  ;  but  when  the  bundle 
is  bound  up  there  is  no  place  for  it  except  the  fire.  God 
grant  that  you  may  never  know  all  the  anguish  which 
burning  must  mean  ;  but  may  you  escape  from  it  at 
once.  It  is  no  trifle  which  the  Lord  of  love  compares  to 
being  consumed  with  fire.  I  am  quite  certain  that  no 
words  of  mine  can  ever  set  forth  its  terror.  They  say  that 
we  speak  dreadful  things  about  the  wrath  to  come  ;  but 
I  am  sure  that  we  understate  the  case.  What  must  the 


2p4  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

tender,  loving,  gracious  Jesus  have  meant  by  the  words, 
"  Gather  the  tares,  and  bind  them  in  bundles  to  burn 
them?"  See  what  a  wide  distinction  between  the  lot 
of  the  Lord's  people  and  Satan's  people.  Burn  the 
wheat?  Oh,  no;  "Gather  the  wheat  into  my  barn." 
There  let  them  be  happily,  safely  housed  for  ever.  Oh, 
the  infinite  distance  between  heaven  and  hell!  —  the 
harps  and  the  angels,  and  the  wailing  and  gnashing  of 
teeth  !  Who  can  ever  measure  the  width  of  that  gulf 
which  divides  the  glorified  saint,  white-robed  and 
crowned  with  immortality,  from  the  soul  which  is  driven 
forever  away  from  the  presence  of  God,  and  from  the 
glory  of  his  power?  It  is  a  dreadful  "but'' — that 
"but"  of  separation.  I  pray  you,  remember  that  it 
will  interpose  between  brother  and  brother — between 
mother  and  child — between  husband  and  wife.  "  One 
shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left."  And  when  that 
sword  shall  descend  to  divide,  there  shall  never  be 
any  after  union.  The  separation  is  eternal.  There  is 
no  hope  or  possibility  of  change  in  the  world  to  come. 

But,  says  one,  "that  dreadful  'but'!  Why  must 
there  be  such  a  difference?"  The  answer  is,  Because 
there  always  was  a  difference.  The  wheat  was  sown  by 
the  Son  of  man  ;  the  false  wheat  was  sown  by  the 
enemy.  There  was  always  a  difference  in  character — 
the  wheat  was  good,  the  tares  were  evil.  This  difference 
did  not  appear  at  first,  but  it  became  more  and  more 
apparent  as  the  wheat  ripened,  and  as  the  tares  ripened 
too.  They  were  totally  different  plants  ;  and  so  a  re- 
generate person  and  an  unregenerate  person  are  alto- 
gether different  beings.  I  have  heard  an  unregenerate 
man  say  that  he  is  quite  as  good  as  the  godly  man  ;  but 
in  so  boasting  he  betrayed  his  pride.  Surely  there  is  as 


WHEAT    IN    THE    BARN.  295 

great  a  difference  in  God's  sight  between  the  unsaved 
and  the  believer  as  between  darkness  and  light,  or  be- 
tween the  dead  and  the  living.  There  is  in  the  one  a  life 
which  there  is  not  in  the  other,  and  the  difference  is 
vital  and  radical.  Oh,  that  you  may  never  trifle  with 
this  essential  matter,  but  be  really  the  wheat  of  the 
Lord  !  It  is  vain  to  have  the  name  of  wheat,  we  must 
have  the  nature  of  wheat.  God  will  not  be  mocked  ; 
he  will  not  be  pleased  by  our  calling  ourselves  Chris- 
tians while  we  are  not  so.  Be  not  satisfied  with  church 
membership  ;  but  seek  after  membership  with  Christ. 
Do  not  talk  about  faith,  but  exercise  it.  Do  not  boast 
of  experience,  but  possess  it.  Be  not  like  the  wheat, 
but  be  the  wheat.  No  shams  and  imitations  will  stand 
in  the  last  great  day  ;  that  terrible  "  but  "  will  roll  as 
a  sea  of  fire  between  the  true  and  the  false.  Oh  Holy 
Spirit  !  let  each  of  us  be  found  transformed  by  thy  power. 

II.  The  second  word  of  our  text  is  "gather" — 
that  is  A  WORD  OF  CONGREGATION.  What  a  blessed  thing 
this  gathering  is  !  I  feel  it  a  great  pleasure  to  gather 
multitudes  together  to  hear  the  gospel  ;  and  is  it  not  a 
joy  to  see  a  house  full  of  people,  on  week-days  and  Sab- 
bath-days, who  are  willing  to  leave  their  homes  and  to 
come  considerable  distances  to  listen  to  the  gospel  ?  It 
is  a  great  thing  to  gather  people  together  for  that  ; 
but  the  gathering  of  the  wheat  into  the  barn  is  a  far 
more  wonderful  business.  Gathering  is  in  itself  better 
than  scattering,  and  I  pray  that  the  Lord  Jesus  may 
ever  exercise  his  attracting  power  in  this  place  ;  for  he 
is  no  Divider,  but  "  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the 
people  be."  Has  he  not  said,  "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from 
the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me"  ? 


296  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

Observe,  that  the  congregation  mentioned  in  our 
text  is  selected  and  assembled  by  skilled  gatherers  : 
"  The  angels  are  the  reapers."  Ministers  could  not  do 
it,  for  they  do  not  know  all  the  Lord's  wheat,  and  they 
are  apt  to  make  mistakes — some  by  too  great  leniency, 
and  others  by  excessive  severity.  Our  poor  judgments 
occasionally  shut  out  saints,  and  often  shut  in  sinners. 
The  angels  will  know  their  Master's  property.  They 
know  each  saint,  for  they  were  present  at  his  birthday. 
Angels  know  when  sinners  repent,  and  they  never  for- 
get the  persons  of  the  penitents.  They  have  witnessed 
the  lives  of  those  who  have  believed,  and  have  helped 
them  in  their  spiritual  battles,  and  so  they  know  them. 
Yes,  angels  by  a  holy  instinct  discern  the  Father's  chil- 
dren, and  are  not  to  be  deceived.  They  will  not  fail  to 
gather  all  the  wheat  and  to  leave  out  every  tare. 

But  they  are  gathered  under  a  very  stringent  regu- 
lation ;  for,  first  of  all,  according  to  the  parable,  the 
tares,  the  fa-lse  wheat,  have  been  taken  out,  and  then 
the  angelic  reapers  gather  nothing  but  the  wheat.  The 
seed  of  the  serpent,  fathered  by  Satan,  is  thus  separated 
from  the  seed  of  the  kingdom,  owned  by  Jesus,  the  prom- 
ised deliverer.  This  is  the  one  distinction  ;  and  no 
other  is  taken  into  consideration.  If  the  most  amiable 
unconverted  persons  could  stand  in  the  ranks  with  the 
saints,  the  angels  would  not  bear  them  to  heaven,  for 
the  mandate  is,  "  Gather  the  wheat."  Could  the  most 
honest  man  be  found  standing  in  the  centre  of  the 
church,  with  all  the  members  round  about  him,  and 
with  all  the  ministers  entreating  that  he  might  be 
spared,  yet  if  he  were  not  a  believer  he  could  not  be 
carried  into  the  divine  garner.  There  is  no  help  for  it. 
The  angels  have  no  choice  in  the  matter  ;  the  peremp- 


WHEAT    IN    THE    BARN.  297 

tory  command  is,  "  Gather  the  wheat,"  and  they  must 
gather  none  else. 

It  will  be  a  gathering  from  very  great  distances. 
Some  of  the  wheat  ripens  in  the  South  Sea  Islands,  in 
China,  and  in  Japan.  Some  flourishes  in  France,  broad 
acres  grow  in  the  United  States  ;  there  is  scarce  a  land 
without  a  portion  of  the  good  grain.  Where  all  God's 
wheat  grows  I  cannot  tell.  There  is  a  remnant,  accord- 
ing to  the  election  of  grace,  among  every  nation  and 
people  ;  but  the  angels  will  gather  all  the  good-  grain 
to  the  same  garner. 

"  Gather  the  wheat."  The  saints  will  be  found  in 
all  ranks  of  society.  The  angels  will  bring  in  a  few 
ears  from  palaces,  and  great  armfuls  from  cottages  ! 
Many  will  be  collected  from  the  lowly  cottages  of  our 
villages  and  hamlets,  and  others  will  be  upraised  from 
the  back  slums  of  our  great  cities  to  the  metropolis  of 
God.  From  the  darkest  places  angels  will  bring  those 
children  of  sweetness  and  light  who  seldom  beheld  the 
sun,  and  yet  were  pure  in  heart  and  saw  their  God. 
The  hidden  and  obscure  shall  be  brought  into  the  light, 
for  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his,  and  his  har- 
vestmen  will  not  miss  them. 

To  me  it  is  a  charming  thought  that  they  will  come 
from  all  the  ages.  Let  us  hope  that  our  first  father 
Adam  will  be  there,  and  mother  Eve,  following  in  the 
footsteps  of  their  dear  son  Abel,  and  trusting  in  the 
same  sacrifice.  We  shall  met  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  and  Moses,  and  David,  and  Daniel,  and  all  the 
saints  made  perfect.  What  a  joy  to  see  the  apostles, 
martyrs,  and  reformers  !  I  long  to  see  Luther,  and 
Calvin,  and  Bunyan,  and  Whitefield.  I  like  the  rhyme 
of  good  old  father  Ryland  : 


298  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

"  They  all  shall  be  there,  the  great  and  the  small, 
Poor  I  shall  shake  hands  with  the  blessed  St.  Paul." 

I  do  not  know  how  that  will  be,  but  I  have  not  much 
doubt  that  we  shall  have  fellowship  with  all  the  saints 
of  every  age  in  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the 
firstborn,  whose  names  are  written  in  heaven. 

No  matter  when  or  where  the  wheat  grew,  it  shall 
be  gathered  into  the  one  barn  ;  gathered  never  to  be 
scattered  ;  gathered  out  of  all  divisions  of  the  visible 
church,  never  to  be  divided  again.  They  grew  in  differ- 
ent fields.  Some  flourished  on  the  hillside  where  Epis- 
copalians grow  in  all  their  glory,  and  others  in  the 
lowlier  soil,  where  Baptists  multiply,  and  Methodists 
flourish  ;  but  once  the  wheat  is  in  the  barn  none  can 
tell  in  which  field  the  ears  grew.  Then,  indeed,  shall 
the  Master's  prayer  have  a  glorious  answer — "  That 
they  all  may  be  one."  All  our  errors  removed  and  our 
mistakes  corrected  and  forgiven,  the  one  Lord,  the  one 
faith,  and  the  one  baptism  will  be  known  of  us  all,  and 
there  will  be  no  more  vexings  and  envyings.  What  a 
blessed  gathering  it  will  be  !  What  a  meeting  !  The 
elect  of  God,  the  elite  of  all  the  centuries,  of  whom  the 
world  was  not  worthy.  I  should  not  like  to  be  away. 
If  there  were  no  hell,  it  would  be  hell  enough  -to  me  to 
be  shut  out  of  such  heavenly  society.  If  there  were  no 
weeping  and  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  it  would  be 
dreadful  enough  to  miss  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  joy  of  praising  him  forever,  and  the  bliss  of  meet- 
ing with  all  the  noblest  beings  that  ever  lived.  Amid 
the  needful  controversies  of  the  age,  I,  who  have  been 
doomed  to  seem  a  man  of  strife,  sigh  for  the  blessed 
rest  wherein  all  spiritual  minds  shall  blend  in  eternal 
accord  before  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  Oh 


WHEAT    IN    THE    BARN.  299 

that  we  were  all  right,  that  we  might  be  all  happily 
united  in  one  spirit  ! 

In  the  text  there  Is  next  A  WORD  OF  DESIGNATION. 
I  have  already  trespassed  upon  that  domain.  "  Gather 
the  wheat.'"  Nothing  but  "  the  wheat  "  must  be  placed 
in  the  Lord's  homestead.  Lend  me  your  hearts  while 
I  urge  you  to  a  searching  examination  for  a  minute 
or  two.  The  wheat  was  sown  of  the  Lord.  Are  you 
sown  of  the  Lord  ?  Friend,  if  you  have  any  religion, 
how  did  you  get  it  ?  Was  it  self-sown  ?  If  so,  it  is 
good  for  nothing.  The  true  wheat  was  sown  by  the  Son 
of  man.  Are  you  sown  of  the  Lord  ?  Did  the  Spirit  of 
God  drop  eternal  life  into  your  bosom  ?  Did  it  come 
from  that  dear  hand  which  was  nailed  to  the  cross  ?  Is 
Jesus  your  life  ?  Does  your  life  begin  and  end  with 
him  ?  If  so,  it  is  well. 

The  wheat  sown  of  the  Lord  is  also  the  object  of 
the  Lord's  care.  Wheat  needs  a  deal  of  attention.  The 
farmer  would  get  nothing  from  it  if  he  did  not  watch  it 
carefully.  Are  you  under  the  Lord's  care  ?  Does  he 
keep  you  ?  Is  that  word  true  to  your  soul,  "  I  the  Lord 
do  keep  it  ;  I  will  water  it  every  moment  :  lest  any  hurt 
it,  I  will  keep  it  night  and  day  ?  "  Do  you  experience 
such  keeping  ?  Make  an  honest  answer,  as  you  love 
your  soul. 

Next*,  wheat  is  a  useful  thing,  a  gift  from  God  for 
the  life  of  men.  The  false  wheat  was  of  no  good  to 
anybody  ;  it  could  only  be  eaten  of  swine,  and  then  it 
made  them  stagger  like  drunken  men.  Are  you  one  of 
those  who  are  wholesome  in  society — who  are  like  bread 
to  the  world,  so  that  if  men  receive  you  and  your  exam- 
ple and  your  teaching  they  will  be  blessed  thereby  ? 


300  TALKS   TO    FARMERS. 

Judge  yourselves  whether  ye  are  good  or  evil  in  life  and 
influence. 

"  Gather  the  wheat."  You  know  that  God  must 
put  the  goodness,  the  grace,  the  solidity,  and  the  use- 
fulness into  you,  or  else  you  will  never  be  wheat  fit  for 
angelic  gathering.  One  thing  is  true  of  the  wheat — 
that  it  is  the  most  dependent  of  all  plants.  I  have 
never  heard  of  a  field  of  wheat  which  sprang  up,  and 
grew,  and  ripened  without  a  husbandman's  care.  Some 
ears  may  appear  after  a  harvest  when  the  corn  has 
shaled  out  ;  but  I  have  never  heard  of  plains  in  America 
or  elsewhere  covered  with  unsown  wheat.  No,  no. 
There  is  no  wheat  where  there  is  no  man,  and  there  is 
no  grace  where  there  is  no  Christ.  We  owe  our  very 
existence  to  the  Father,  who  is  the  husbandman. 

Yet,  dependent  as  it  is,  wheat  stands  in  the  front 
rank  of  honor  and  esteem  ;  and  so  do  the  godly  in  the 
judgment  of  all  who  are  of  understanding  heart.  We 
are  nothing  without  .Christ  ;  but  with  him  we  are  full 
of  honor.  Oh,  to  be  among  those  by  whom  the  world 
is  preserved,  the  excellent  of  the  earth  in  whom  the 
saints  delight  ;  God  forbid  we  should  be  among  the 
base  and  worthless  tares  ! 

Our  last  head,  upon  which  also  I  will  speak  briefly, 
is  A  WORD  OF  DESTINATION.  "  Gather  the  wheat  into  my 
barn."  The  process  of  gathering  in  the  whea't  will  be 
completed  at  the  day  of  judgment,  but  it  is  going  on 
every  day.  From  hour  to  hour  saints  are  gathered  ; 
they  are  going  heavenward  even  now.  I  am  so  glad  to  \ 
hear  as  a  regular  thing  that  the  departed  ones  from  my 
own  dear  church  have  such  joy  in  being  harvested. 
Glory  be  to  God,  our  people  die  well.  The  best  thing 


WHEAT    IN    THE    BARN.  3OI 

is  to  live  well,  but  we  are  greatly  gladdened  to  hear 
that  the  brethren  die  well  ;  for,  full  often,  that  is  the 
most  telling  witness  for  vital  godliness.  Men  of  the 
world  feel  the  power  of  triumphant  deaths. 

Every  hour  the  saints  are  being  gathered  into  the 
barn.  That  is  where  they  want  to  be.  We  feel  no  pain 
at  the  news  of  ingathering,  for  we  wish  to  be  safely 
stored  up  by  our  Lord.  If  the  wheat  that  is  in  the  field 
could  speak,  every  ear  would  say,  "  The  ultimatum  for 
which  we  are  living  and  growing  is  the  barn,  the  gran- 
ary." For  this  the  frosty  night  ;  for  this  the  sunny 
day  ;  for  this  the  dew  and  the  rain  ;  and  for  this  every- 
thing. Every  process  with  the  wheat  is  tending  tow- 
ard the  granary.  So  is  it  with  us  ;  everything  is 
working  toward  heaven — toward  the  gathering  place 
— toward  the  congregation  of  the  righteous — toward 
the  vision  of  our  Redeemer's  face.  Our  death  will 
cause  no  jar  in  our  life-music  ;  it  will  involve  no  pause 
or  even  discord;  it  is  part  of  a  programme,  the  crown- 
ing of  our  whole  history. 

To  the  wheat  the  barn  is  the  place  of  security.  It 
dreads  no  mildew  there  ;  it  fears  no  frost,  no  heat,  no 
drought,  no  wet,  when  once  in  the  barn.  All  its 
growth-perils  are  past.  It  has  reached  its  perfection. 
It  has  rewarded  the  labor  of  the  husbandman,  and  it  is 
housed.  Oh,  long-expected  day,  begin  !  Oh,  brethren, 
what  a  blessing  it  will  be  when  you  and  I  shall  have 
come  to  our  maturity,  and  Christ  shall  see  in  us  the 
travail  of  his  soul. 

I  delight  to  think  of  heaven  as  his  barn  ;  his  barn, 
what  must  that  be  ?  It  is  but  the  poverty  of  language 
that  such  an  expression  has  to  be  used  at  all  concerning 
the  home  of  our  Father,  the  dwelling  of  Jesus.  Heaven 


302  TALKS    TO    FARMERS. 

is  the  palace  of  the  King,  but,  so  far,  to  us  a  barn,  be- 
cause it  is  the  place  of  security,  the  place  of  rest  for 
ever.  It  is  the  homestead  of  Christ  to  which  we  shall 
be  carried,  and  for  this  we  are  ripening.  It  is  to  be 
thought  of  with  ecstatic  joy  ;  for  the  gathering  into  the 
barn  involves  a  harvest  home,  and  I  have  never  heard 
of  men  sitting  down  to  cry  over  an  earthly  harvest 
home,  nor  of  their  following  the  sheaves  with  tears. 
Nay,  they  clap  their  hands,  they  dance  for  joy,  and 
shout  right  lustily.  Let  us  do  something  like  that  con- 
cerning those  who  are  already  housed.  With  grave, 
sweet  melodies  let  us  sing  around  their  tombs.  Let  us 
feel  that,  surely,  the  bitterness  of  death  is  passed. 
When  we  remember  their  glory,  we  may  rejoice  like  the 
travailing  woman  when  her  child  is  born,  who  "  re- 
membereth  no  more  the  anguish,  for  joy  that  a  man  is 
born  into  the  world."  Another  soul  begins  to  sing  in 
heaven  ;  why  do  you  weep,  O  heirs  of  immortality  ?  Is 
the  eternal  happiness  of  the  righteous  the  birth  which 
comes  of  their  death-pangs  ?  Then  happy  are  they  who 
die.  Is  glory  the  end  and  outcome  of  that  which  fills 
our  home  with  mourning  ?  If  so,  thank  God  for  be- 
reavements ;  thank  God  for  saddest  severings.  He  has 
promoted  our  dear  ones  to  the  skies  !  He  has  blessed 
them  beyond  all  that  we  could  ask  or  even  think  ;  he 
has  taken  them  out  of  this  weary  world  to  lie  in  his  own 
bosom  for  ever.  Blessed  be  his  name  if  it  were  for 
nothing  else  but  this.  Would  you  keep  your  old  father 
here,  full  of  pain,  and  broken  down  with  feebleness  ? 
Would  you  shut  him  out  of  glory  ?  Would  you  detain 
your  dear  wife  here  with  all  her  suffering  ?  Would  you 
hold  back  your  husband  from  the  crown  immortal  ? 
Could  you  wish  your  child  to  descend  to  earth  again 


WHEAT    IN    THE    BARN.  303 

from  the  bliss  which  now  surrounds  her  ?  No,  no.  We 
wish  to  be  going  home  ourselves  to  the  heavenly 
Father's  house  and  its  many  mansions  ;  but  concerning 
the  departed  we  rejoice  before  the  Lord  as  with  the  joy 
of  haTvest.  "  Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with 
these  words." 


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Funk  &   Wagnalls1  Important  Publications. 

The  Ethics  of  Marriage. 

BY  H.  S.  POMEKOY,  M.D. 

Prefatory  note  by  Thomas  Addis  Emmett,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  and 
Introduction  by  Rev.  J.  T.  Duryea,  D.D.,  of  Boston.  With  an 
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The  Author  «ays  in  the  preface: 

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it  will  sooner  or  later  be  our  calamity.  This  sin  has  its  roots  in  a  low  and  false  idea 
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almost  like  a  voice  from  heaven." 


A  Man's  Will. 


BY  EDQAB  FAWCETT. 

It  presents  pictures  of  New  York  life  and  shows  the  terribly  degrad- 
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BY  FRANCES  E.  PINCH  and  FRANK  J.  SIBLEY. 

Mr.  Finch  was  Right  Worthy  Grand  Templar  of  I.  O.  G.  T.  of  the 
World.  Will  contain  all  his  great  temperance  speeches.  Intro- 
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"  An  able  and  sincere  man." — Ex-Gov.  Hoadly  of  Ohio, 

Prohibition  Bells, 

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without  music!  '' 

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